Deepest Blue
by Devilish Kurumi
Summary: Sequel to Wishful Thinking. Months later, and their relationship is still horribly dysfunctional. But then again, there are more important things to worry about... AmarantKuja [Hiatus.]
1. Ministry Of Sound

A/N: WOOOOOOOOHOOOOO. Hi everybody, I'm baaaaack! Time to see what Amarant and Kuja are doing, huh?

I'd like to take a moment to tell you all that this, unlike Wishful Thinking, it's predecessor, will not be updated as quickly or as constantly. That's mainly because I'm so into Vincent/Cid right now it's not even funny – Vincent/Amarant, anyone? D

This story also focuses less on UST and more on "What the fuck, Amarant? Crazy homicidal brother of your rival!" I wanted to swim a bit down and see why, exactly, Amarant went with Kuja instead of sleeping with Janelle.

That's right, I have no idea what my characters are doing. Hell, I didn't know what was going to be the plot of this fic until about halfway through the first chapter, so... Yeah. Just read.

Dedicated to Elendraug, who has been most beautiful with reading my ficcage.

* * *

His dreams are of fire and brimstone. 

People scream, and he feels heat across his face, as if he is on fire – his whole body erupts into flame and he can't scream for help.

Except he does scream, and goddamned loudly to boot. They've gotten in trouble with exactly two captains, five shipmates, and three civilians since they started traveling around Gaia. All because Kuja has nightmares.

Amarant thinks about a lot of things while he's working the engines and taking care of the live cargo. Most of the time, though, his thoughts drift to Kuja, who can't really get out of his head for a damned minute. It's almost annoying, but he reminds himself that Kuja's the one who will have money once they can pop their heads back up in Treno, and he's the one who keeps the bed warm for him. Because it gets really cold up top.

Katrina – one of the few female mechanics he's met in a while – appears and lets him know that his shift is over, and Kuja hasn't started bellowing yet so he can probably have a few hours sleep. He doesn't thank her – why should he? – and heads up top, stretching and wiping his hands on his pants. Oil streaks across green fabric, and he wonders how he can get so dirty so easily, especially with such clean engines. He'll take a shower tomorrow when they get into Conde Petie – Kuja can put up with him smelling like oil for a few hours.

The ship rocks only marginally, and Amarant's so used to the movements of ships that he barely notices. He hopes that if Kuja left a candle burning, it's at least in a lantern on the wall, instead of on the tables.

He opens the door to their cabin – it creaks loudly, but there's nothing he can do to stop it, and notes with annoyed relief that yes, the candle is in the lantern, not on the table.

Kuja's laid out like a rag doll under the sheets – his tail swings along the side of the bed and really, he's more like a cat than a doll. He's asleep, and probably not dreaming badly yet, so Amarant's got a few hours reprieve. He undresses and blows out the candle, slinking under the covers and closing his eyes. About five hours till sunrise and another six until they reach Conde Petie. From there, they'll probably have to figure out what's what at home, and decide if it's safe yet. Not that he cares.

Kuja rolls over and almost immediately curls against him – Amarant puts his arm over the monkey's shoulder and, almost in retaliation, Kuja's tail winds around his leg.

"You smell like oil," the Genome mutters against his collarbone, and Amarant makes a noise between a laugh and a grunt.

"Engine room."

"Mm. Very manly."

"Go to sleep," Amarant groans, "Sarcastic comments can wait until morning." Kuja sighs sleepily, nods, and his eyes close again. Amarant shifts and pulls Kuja a bit closer – just because he feels like it.

When Kuja has nightmares, they tend to wake Amarant up. It can be for a variety of reasons – fists tightening in his hair, kicks, even Kuja's tail can squeeze his leg until he can't feel it anymore. More often than not, though, Amarant just knows – Kuja has a way of manipulating the surroundings.

He doesn't try to wake Kuja up when he starts to dream badly. He always thought that dreams were something important, and when they're good and ready they'll wake you up themselves. So when Kuja begins his nightmares, Amarant wakes up and makes sure there's nothing important around them that can break.

He tries to calm the other down in small ways – he'll pet his hair or rub one of his hands between his own huge ones, maybe, if he's not being kicked too hard. Kuja's broken a few vases in his sleep – mostly from errant batches of energy that lance out, soundless and invisible, to hit anything that might be breakable. It comes out of Amarant's paycheck.

He can't do anything for Kuja, not really, so he simply lets the episodes slide by, trying to keep him quiet. It's not strange to think about Kuja being loud, or being vicious – he knows he can be both, and he can be them very well to boot. But the strangest thing is that Kuja's told him – sideways, of course, he has a thing about telling anyone anything straight up – that he likes not having to be vicious, likes not being loud. He likes to sleep but hates to dream, those were the words he used once.

Kuja makes a strangled noise and Amarant clamps a hand over his mouth as he lets out a scream that will probably reverberate around the entire damned ship. Kuja jerks and he lets go as the Genome spins and sits straight up, eyes glistening in the dark, reflecting light Amarant didn't know was there.

Amarant shifts his weight and rises on an elbow, looking at Kuja and measuring the time between each time his chest heaves with breath. "You're getting less rowdy, at least," he mutters. Kuja doesn't respond, and this is worrying – Kuja always responds, with a catty remark or at least a nod of acknowledgement. Amarant brings his arm up and wraps it around Kuja's shoulders, easing him down into the bed and into his bear hug. "You're okay, now."

Kuja mumbles against his chest and kisses his collarbone before closing his eyes again. Kuja puts a lot of stock in kisses and touches – more than Amarant's used to. He's okay with it, he supposes – so long as Kuja's not crazy.

He doesn't even know why he likes Kuja, much less likes him like _this_. He's a girly, high-class pretty boy with clean hands and a tendency to drive Amarant bat-shit crazy. Then again, Lani drove him crazy too, and they'd had quite a thing going on for a while...

Amarant decides he's a masochist. Plain and simple. He loves being driven crazy; loves having people around him who tell him to mind his manners and to ask questions _before_ he goes and punches guys in the face. There's probably some issues he's avoiding – repressed memories or just plain neediness that doesn't become a bounty hunter, so he'll avoid them a little longer.

Kuja moves against his chest, and Amarant watches him in case he's about to start screaming again. But, no, the bad dreaming has passed, and now he's probably dreaming of a canary in a birdcage or something else weird that Kuja would dream about.

Amarant thinks briefly about what's going to happen tomorrow. He knows the plan is laid out and practically set in stone – they'll get off, spend a day or two in Conde Petie, and then test the waters back home. Hopefully, Moko will be waiting for them in the dwarf town – Kuja's paid him to be loyal and punctual, and it won't due to not have Arok's letters for review.

He sighs – he feels too organized. Amarant's so used to letting himself drift that giving purpose and plan to everything makes him feel like he's being sliced up and organized into little boxes – alphabetically, starting from 'z'.

But it's not a time to drift – not with him being dead and all. If he were to waltz into Treno with his bounty just released... Well, who knows. There'd probably be a scuffle or two.

Kuja mumbles something and Amarant closes his eyes. A few months ago, he was swearing he wouldn't go back to Treno ever. Now, he can't wait for the day he sees the nightscape again.

* * *

Kuja is a people person. By the time Amarant is up and dressed, he's helped serve breakfast to the crew and the few passengers, helped a boy find his lost sister, and somehow managed to get Amarant a plate so he wouldn't starve for the next four or five hours. 

It's funny, because he always insists Amarant should keep a low profile, while he goes out and does things that are unusual. Then again, Kuja's nothing but unusual. If anyone has recognized him, they haven't tried to take him in for bounty; that's a good sign. Maybe being nice really _can_ keep you out of jail.

Maybe it's just Kuja's good looks. Amarant's leaning towards the good looks.

"Thanks," he mutters when Kuja hands him the plate, watching the Genome flop onto the bed. He's still wearing skirts but his outfit is starting to look ragged – no matter how well he's been taking care of it. He'll be glad to go back to Treno.

That is, if they ever can. He's not sure – it's been about two weeks since they responded to Arok's last letter – the boy's been good about keeping them informed but who knows how long it'll last.

"Do you think Moko is there?" Kuja asks, and Amarant shrugs, trying to take his time eating while knowing that he's due in the engine room in half an hour.

"Could be. Let's hope so." Amarant's beginning to feel worn around the edges, and he doesn't like the idea of staying off of the Mist continent forever. The Outer continent is pretty boring – the interesting places like the Black Mage Village or the Desert Palace have permanent off-limit status for Kuja, and the farming villages strewn about just don't hold any glamour for either of them.

There's a knock on the door and Amarant gets up, opening it partway and looking out. Katrina is standing on the other side, grease smudged across a cheek and blonde hair falling out of her loose braided pigtails.

"There's been a problem down below. Come check it out."

Amarant groans and gives a long look at his food, before making an affirmative noise. Kuja gives him a half-hearted wave and he leaves. Katrina is giving him odd, sideways glances that he's long since inferred the meaning of.

"Keep staring. Might do a trick."

"Sorry – I'm just... It's just..." Amarant casts her a steady, piercing gaze – one he's perfected from his days traveling with Lani.

"Spit it out, or shut your mouth, before you catch a couple bugs."

"You're so _rude_!" Katrina exclaims, "How in the name of Gaia you bedded Mr. Tribal is _beyond_ me!"

"You're assuming I've bedded him." They get to the door leading into the engine room, and Amarant frowns. "I haven't slept with Kuja, so you might as well quit wondering. Now, what the hell did you do wrong?"

"You haven't – but...?"

"_What_ did you _do_, woman? You brought me down here for a reason, didn't you? Or are you just here to gossip?"

"Hell," Katrina mutters, shaking her head. "The engine's been making funny noises for the past half hour. Figured you could tell me if we're going to crash because of it."

"I'm not an engine person," Amarant drawls, looking at pressure meters that make very little sense to him. Honestly, he just knows enough to keep the thing running if everything's going fine – how's he supposed to know if they're going to crash? "Go get the damned captain if you're so worried. I don't know what's wrong with it." Amarant crosses his arms. "You know that."

"I didn't want to disturb the captain... Where are you going!" Amarant looks over his shoulder as he heads back up the stairs.

"I'm going to finish breakfast before I take over. Unless you've got more gaping to do?"

"If you're not sleeping with him, then what _are_ you doing?"

Amarant stops, turns; he looks at Katrina in mild annoyance.

"If I knew what I was with Kuja, would you honestly expect me to tell you?"

Katrina puts on a look that resembles a preening bird. "If you don't know what you are, then you don't have any qualms layin' with me, do you?"

Amarant raises an eyebrow and laughs dryly. "Your legs open for steam engines and at least two of the cabin boys. I sure as hell ain't going anywhere near you."

He slams the door on her off-put face.

* * *

Kuja's excited to be back in Conde Petie – it's been a good long while since he's seen a town bigger than five homes and an inn. Amarant's glad too, but he's more pleased over the fact that Moko is waiting for them at the bridge into the town. 

The two approach the moogle and put their bags down in front of him. He looks a little worn and his shawl, pulled over his head and wrapped around his face, looks ragged. "Kuja-agha, I've got your letters," Moko pulls his shawl down off of his face and hands two slightly battered letters to the Genome.

"You've been a great help to us, Moko," Kuja responds, smiling as he takes the letters and glances at the senders. He hands one to Amarant – Arok's letter – and keeps the other one for himself. "Why don't you come with us and get some rest while we review these and write responses?"

"Thanks a lot," Moko breathes, relieved, "It's hard traveling nowadays – I'm not as young as I was."

Amarant idly looks over the makeshift envelope with plain wax – his name, not Kuja's, is scribbled on the front. Arok has been writing the letters to both of them for a while, but he's known that Amarant's the one who reads them. Kuja has trouble with bad spelling and grammar – and boy, Arok has both of those. He wonders who the other letter is from, but he'll find out in a few minutes, anyways. They wander through the streets to the inn – the town is a bit more crowded now, as they've started accepting airships with tourists. There's a wedding ceremony going on and people are crying in joy – Amarant snorts and asks for a room.

They head inside the room, where it's considerably quieter, and Kuja puts his bag down on the bed. He immediately cracks open the letter – there's an ornate seal over the top.

"It's from the girls," he says, smiling in a vaguely fond way. Amarant knows exactly what he means when he says the girls – the same two girls who had driven them to Dali, followed them to a small village called Mandari, and then parted with to head to Lindblum after a rather unfortunate night at a bar in the same village.

"What's going on with them?" Amarant asks idly, opening Arok's letter.

"They say they had a wonderful time in Lindblum but have since returned to Alexandria... The castle is still being repaired, but it looks to be near finished."

"That's good."

"They're saying that they met up with Arok... Does he say anything on that?"

"I haven't read it yet, let me look." He looks down at the folded letter and opens it, expecting another long, drawn out explanation of what everyone's doing. Instead, the letter had only three short sentences:

_Bounty relesed. Janele missin. Come home._

"What's it say?"

Amarant reads it again, ignoring Kuja for the moment, eyes narrowing. Kuja frowns, suddenly, and stands up. "Amarant, what does it _say_?"

Amarant shrugs, and hands the letter to Kuja, who reads it in a single glance and then makes a noise.

"When does the next airship leave? If we leave now we can get to Treno in a few hours, maybe by-"

"We're not going."

"What? Why _not_!"

Amarant stands and puts his hands on Kuja's shoulders, looking down at the aggravated monkey. "Kuja, I'm dog-ass tired of flying around on airships, and we don't have the money right now. Besides..." He sighs, "I'm tired. Let's sleep; we can leave tomorrow. Moko's tired too – he's still in the market, getting something to eat. We should get some rest before we leave, and I still have to figure out where he wants us to _go_."

"What do you mean, go? Home is Treno for Arok, isn't it?"

Amarant shakes his head. "Arok's family live in Alexandria, Kuja."

"...Oh." Kuja looks down. "I can't go back to Alexandria."

"I know. We'll worry about it in the morning – he might think we consider Treno home."

"He would've addressed it to both of us if that were the case. You know he lives in Alexandria..."

"I saw him there last time. His mother died."

"Oh..." Kuja pulls away and Amarant shrugs. "I didn't know that."

"I don't think he had time to tell you, you know." The bounty hunter sits on the bed and Kuja sits next to him, sides pressed together. "We'll worry about it in the morning."

"Mm..." Kuja leans against him, eyes closing. "...Thank you."

"For what?" Amarant looks down at the smaller man, eyes catching his hair, going over his face in idle contemplation.

"For staying. This whole time – my bounty was the problem, not yours. You've lived with it."

"My bounty was a lot less than yours was going to be, you know."

Kuja shifts, and puts a leg over Amarant, effectively straddling him. "You stayed after I couldn't control myself. You stopped me and kept me alive." He puts his hands on Amarant's arms and kisses his neck, "I don't know what that makes us, but I like it."

"I like what we are too."

Kuja kisses the other side of his neck, then looks at him in a bemused way. "What are we, then? We've slept together for the past few months, but we've never actually slept together. We kiss but it's not desperate like it should be."

"It doesn't need to be desperate," Amarant mumbles – he's not blushing, he better not be – and rubs the back of his head. "And I... Something about it just make me..."

"You're a skirt chaser, all right," Kuja mutters, slipping off and standing. "I'm going to go look at the shop. You let me know what _you_ think we should do."

Kuja stalks out of the room and Amarant has a sinking feeling he's said something wrong.

* * *

Dozing in a dwarfish inn for about three hours wasn't the best of things for Amarant. He slips out of his idle, half-sleeping daze and sits up – the sun has set and the room is dark. Kuja still isn't back yet, and this worries the bounty hunter. Someone might've seen him and remembered the bounty – they might've tried to take Kuja in for the reward – someone could've started a fight... he might've just left for Treno without him. 

He doesn't like how that worries him more than him being kidnapped, and so he rises to his feet, heading out the door, through the inn, and onto the street. It's fairly warm outside, considering the time, and humid; the Outer continent only gets two seasons: hot and freezing. There's a wedding party in the bar next door – and automatically, Amarant heads for it. He knows Kuja to some extent – enough to know that he'll go into the bar with Moko. Hopefully.

The party is loud and the tamest form of rowdy he's seen. The people are dressed in nice suits and dresses, but there's a few sore thumbs sticking out – a few people dressed in extravagant outfits made of cheap fabric. The richer people, however, are treating them to drinks and giving them pats on the back. Amarant decides they must either be really drunk, or these people must be family of the married couple. He looks around but doesn't see Kuja... at least, not at first.

He looks over the bar and suddenly the light catches on the Genome's silver hair – he's talking, laughing with a lean young man, with deep red hair and one of those exaggerated outfits. He's grinning and laying it on thick – too thick, damn it, Kuja's letting him get away with too much.

"How long have you all been performing?" Kuja's asking, and Amarant shifts through the crowd, heading for them.

"Near six years. This is our first performance out of the Mist continent, though..."

"It looks like it was a hit," Kuja smiles, and then he sees Amarant. The smile flickers, and he raises an eyebrow. "Oh. Amarant, what are you doing here?"

"Looking for you." Amarant casts the curious redhead a dark look, and the actor immediately gulps, "What's going on?"  
"You know, Amarant, you should try to be a bit nicer to someone I'm negotiating with," Kuja drawls in annoyance, "Why don't you go drink, or something? You like doing that, don't you?"

The bounty hunter looks at Kuja in confusion. "What's with the claws?" He knows he's done something wrong – that much is obvious, but why, exactly, is Kuja being so...

"Oh, there's a pretty barmaid," Kuja continues in that dull, uninterested voice, "Why don't you go try to bed her?" Kuja slides against the bar easily, almost leaning fully against the younger redhead. "I'll be a while longer."

He could strangle the actor, if Kuja wasn't giving him a look of death.

"I'm not sleeping with _anybody_," he growls, and turns, stalking out of the bar. His head is racing and if he paid any attention, he would realize just how crazed he sounds in his mind.

Amarant doesn't usually have strong emotions. He likes to categorize his feelings as such: indifferent, annoyed, and amused. He doesn't like excess emotion – it gets in the way, clogging up his senses and biasing his mind.

But right now, he's feeling more than just annoyance. He's feeling anger. Amarant is _angry_ – he won't admit it, but he might be a bit jealous, too. He doesn't know why, exactly – Kuja's been catty with him before, but it's never angered him this much. Even in Treno, that shouting match had only been his reaction to Kuja's yelling. The idea of getting so worked up over Kuja flirting – shamelessly, aggravatingly – with a scrawny little bit actor really doesn't make sense.

He doesn't know what he and Kuja are, but he knows that there's enough to make him want to stay with the infuriating monkey. Enough to make him stay through nightmares, cynicism, and mood swings worse than Lani's had ever been. He had figured that would be enough for Kuja...

He doesn't realize he's punched one of the stone walls until pain lances up his arm.

"Careful there, sugar, y'might hurt y'self."

Amarant looks over his shoulder, glaring at one of those theatre people – the girl is dressed in an elaborate, cheaply made dress, holding a parasol over her shoulder like a sword.

"Then again, someone big like you probably don't feel physical pain," she continues, drawling in a strange accent that's more pleasant than Arok's but still foreign to his ears.

"Don't make assumptions of me," Amarant growls, rubbing his knuckles idly. He forgot his claws again.

"I'm not makin' any assumptions, sugar. What's got you so riled up?" She comes up next to him and takes his hand in both of hers, looking at his knuckles and clicking her tongue.

_Lani made an annoyed noise and examined his wrist. _"_You're going to break your hand off if you keep fighting without your claws, Ama."_

_"I don't need my claws. I like feelin' 'em **squirm**."_

_"You're so gross. Come on..._"

"We should probably get this bandaged up, darlin'."

Amarant blinks, staring at the actress in confusion. Wasn't he just...?

"It's fine. Who the hell are you?"

The girl blinks, then grins in an unladylike way as she curtsies – exaggeratedly, just like her clothing. "My name's Ruby, lead actress of Tantalus!"

"...Tantalus..."

Sounds familiar, but maybe he's just thinking of a tarantula.

"Well, I followed you, 'cos you stormed out mighty quick after talkin' t' Blank and his latest prospect."

Amarant makes a mental note to remember the name Blank, so he knows who to hunt down later, even as he answers, "Kuja is _not_ his prospect."

Ruby blinks, frowning in confusion. "But... Now, are you sure? That girl looked mightily interested in..."

Amarant chuckles, shaking his head. "Girl?"

"What?"

"Kuja," Amarant grins, feeling a bit triumphant, "Is not a girl. Might not pull it very well, but he is... well, a he."

"Oh!" Ruby blinks again, then shrugs. "Makes no difference to Blank, really. The boy is indiscriminate. Why, for a few years, he was so intent on this one guy... Oh, they went at it like dogs sometimes, but Blank always knew he was a lady's man – never really got over that..."

Amarant glares and she shuts up about it.

"Either way," she mumbles, suddenly a bit unsure, "It's best if you wrap that up, so it doesn't get dirt in it. See you around, sugar." Ruby sashays away, but Amarant's too busy looking over his hand to really notice her at all. His knuckles are bloody – he looks at the wall and finds there to be an actual indent in it – as if he had punched through putty.

He stalks towards the inn again. _Fine_, his mind grumbles, _If that's how it is, that's how it is._

The room seems smaller, now that he's gotten out a bit, but he's tired – _tired of crazy, bipolar _– and the bed is plenty big. He undresses and climbs in, idly checking his hand. It stings, but it's dull, and it'll go away soon enough.

His eyes close. He opens them again and feels hands against his, soft and smooth. He looks over and Kuja's sitting on the side of the bed, wrapping his knuckles up. "Stupid," he's muttering to himself, shaking his head, "If you don't wrap these things-"

_"It'll get infected. And then you'll be the one-handed flaming Amarant!" Lani exclaims, "Sometimes I just don't know-"_

"-What to do with you."

Kuja finishes tying the bandage and Amarant watches him stretch and then slide under the covers. He doesn't move closer but he doesn't pull away when Amarant rolls over, reaching out with his bandaged hand and touching loose locks of hair.

"What's with the claws?" he asks again, quieter, voice hoarse and wary.

"They'll give us a ride to Treno tomorrow," Kuja dodges the question with ease, closing his eyes. "If we need it, they'll take us to Alexandria."

"Who the hell did you have to sleep with to get that kind of deal?"

Kuja smirks, looking far too content. "Nobody, yet."

Amarant blinks, frowning, "What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"It all depends on how well my date with Blank goes, doesn't it?" The Genome rolls over, back to Amarant. "Goodnight."

Amarant stares at the pale back and wishes for all the world that the ship had crashed when Katrina thought it would.

* * *

**Disclaimer**: Arok, Janelle, Moko, and Byrd are all mine. Everyone else... well, Squaresoft or whatever owns them. 


	2. Petit Love

A/N: Chapter dos! More kudos to Elendraug, who's been a wonderful sport throughout my obsessive streak.

Also, THERE'S ANOTHER AMARANT/KUJA FIC IN TOWN, by Zozo the White – it just updated so I gotta go read the new chapter. Anyways, go read it, it's pretty good, and there's some funny stuff in it.

Is it wrong I think Amarant's ticklish?

* * *

The airship Prima Vista is a lot like the costumes that Tantalus wear; extravagant but cheaply made. The huge woman on front is made of copper and is green-tinted, old and worn, and the wood creaks under Amarant's feet. 

Then again, it's just been converted to a steam engine, so it's not completely ancient. Kuja is looking around and Amarant feels like the other wants to live here. He hopes that's not the case, because this thing could probably fall out of the sky at any moment. Blank is talking quickly and easily, covering more ground than Amarant thought his short legs could, and Kuja is smiling, laughing lightly. He's pointing out all sorts of random objects – props, scenery, lighting – and he gives everyone they pass waves.

"_Blank_!"

Amarant looks over his shoulder and then stops, turning around in time to see a bulky man with large rat ears – half-Burmecian? – and a pilot's hat on, complete with goggles.

"Uh..." The actor moves in front of Amarant and grins, almost sheepishly. "Hey, boss. What's up?"

"You know damned well what's up! What do you think you're doing, bringin' people on this ship like we can take 'em?"

Kuja blinks, looking at Amarant briefly before turning to Blank, crossing his arms. "Oh, dear. Did we cause a problem? Blank never said anything about that..."

The boy winces and rubs the back of his head, looking at Kuja empathically. Amarant snorts. "I didn't... I mean!" He turns to the boss, pleading now, "Come on, Baku – I promise it's not-"

"The Prima Vista ain't a damned cruise ship!"

"They needed to go to Treno and we were heading there _anyways_! I thought-"

"Yeah _right_ you thought! Look, we don't have enough supplies to baby two-"

"Baby us?" Amarant snorts, cutting Baku off. He's heard enough. "I'm not planning on flying for free." He nods to the older man, "I'll do work for you, from here to Treno. Nightshifts, engine work, whatever." He jabs a thumb at the actor, giving him a vicious glare before looking back to Baku, "I didn't come here 'cos of this fool. I need to go to Treno, that's all."

"You can work an engine." Baku doesn't look impressed, and probably can see through Amarant, who bluffs anyways because Kuja wants to go back to Treno.

"Enough to know if we're going to crash or not. I pull my weight. Ask any of the airships on this continent."

Kuja speaks up, suddenly, and Amarant knows Baku's not going to be able to back down now. "Please. I haven't been home in a _long_ time, and my friend has gone missing. I need to find her and make sure she's alright."

"Aw, damn it..." Baku sighs, shaking his head, before pointing at all three of them. "_Fine_! But if you _ever_..." He jabs Blank roughly, "_Ever_ go over me and invite people on this ship again, you are going to re­-_gret_ it."

"Y-Yeah, boss, I got it." Baku mumbles and shakes his head, heading past them. "Um..."

"You _didn't_ tell me we weren't allowed," Kuja snaps, eyes narrowing slightly. Amarant, for once, is glad Blank's here – now that glare isn't directed at him.

"I didn't think he'd care."

"You know better than that!" Amarant looks and sees Ruby approaching them with a big, cat-like smile on her face. "I'm sorry, Blank here doesn't know _what_ he's doing half the time."

"I can believe that," Amarant mumbles. Kuja gives him a look and he turns away, looking over the hull. The ship only took off a few minutes ago, and it's obvious that it isn't meant to carry as much as it is.

"Kuja, you should come see the view!" Blank exclaims, grinning easily, "It's really great, especially from my room."

Kuja smirks, crossing his arms and shrugging, "I wonder if that's really all that's great in your room," he drawls, walking past the actor, "Alright, let's go see."

Blank looks like a cat with a mouse and Amarant rolls his eyes – the stupid actor has no idea who's the mouse in this game.

"Are you sure that guy isn't a prospect?" Ruby asks after the two leave. Amarant looks at her. "I mean, I know _you_ don't _want_ him to be, but..."

"He isn't."

"Really, then... I think you should make sure Blank knows what kind of mess he's getting into, darlin'. Poor boy isn't too bright in the head – I don't think he even sees those death glares you've been givin' him."

"It's not my problem." Amarant shrugs and shakes his head, crossing his arms. "It's Kuja's business, who he wants to bed."

Well, previously, he had been sure it _was _his business, but now...

Ruby is giving him one of _the_ most devilish smirks he's ever seen on a woman. "What?" he asks, warily.

"You _want_ it to be your business," she purrs, "So, it's my duty as Blank's friend to keep him out of the picture."

"As Blank's friend?"

"Well, of course!" She laughs, covering her mouth with her hand, "I don't want him rend limb from limb because he got in your way!" She shakes her head, "The poor boy is just... well, you see it. He's not the brightest – not when it comes to relationships, at least."

"I can see that."

Ruby laughs again, "Come on, sugar. I'll show you where you can sleep – we'll be in Treno by tomorrow morning. I'll find out what Baku's going to make you do," she adds, grabbing his arm and pulling him forward – he follows without complaint.

"Better not be engines," he mutters, "I don't know how the hell those things work."

Ruby grins and shakes her head, "He likes doing that himself. He probably won't have you do much of anything. He'll take it out of Blank, most likely."

Amarant grins; that's not a half-bad idea. Maybe _he'll_ just do that instead.

* * *

"So, what's with the lizard guy?" Blank asks, closing the door to his room. 

"Hm?" Kuja looks in the actor's direction, before going to the windows and looking out. "Oh... What do you mean?"

"Well..." Blank stands next to the Genome, unaware of just how close he is to someone who could have killed everyone he knows. "I mean, is he a relative, or a bodyguard, or something? I don't get your relationship with him."

Kuja laughs. His relationship with Amarant? "Neither do I, unfortunately." He knows what they aren't and he knows what he wants it to be, but when he looks at both of them together, the words and thoughts jumble and become impossible to figure. "He..." Kuja shrugs, "He's something."

"For sure, I see that. Well, so long as him glaring at me doesn't mean I'm tromping on his territory..."

"Territory?" Kuja asks, looking at Blank in mild amusement.

"Well – I mean, when I was talking with you earlier. He got really... angry."

The Genome shakes his head, laughing slightly, "Amarant gets angry very easily. But he's... oh, what was it – he's a skirt-chaser. He has very little interest in me."

_That's not true_, Kuja thinks vaguely, but the thought drifts easily enough.

"So you guys are just friends, then?"

Kuja hasn't been able to say the word "friend" in a while. He doesn't like categorizing people, and Amarant is definitely more than a friend... Maybe.

"I don't know. There's something, but..." Kuja looks out over the desert, and sees the sea coming towards them. The ship is fast. "It's very pretty."

"Yeah – I haven't really been off the Mist Continent too much, so all of this is pretty new. It's cool, though..." The boy gives him a halfway look and then shakes his head. "You know, if you're interested in that guy, you shouldn't be leading me on."

Kuja blinks and looks at Blank in confusion. "Leading you on...? Oh." He shakes his head, "I didn't mean to do that. I mean... Hmm. Yes, I'm very much interested in Amarant, but... He's very much _not_ interested in me – not like I want. So, why waste my time on something that can't be?"

Blank raises an eyebrow and shakes his head, smirking. "You speak very well and know when to reel it in. You could be an actor."

"I could be a lot of things that I'm not."

"Hopeless romantic?"

Kuja smiles vaguely, looking at the rapidly approaching sea. "Utterly and uselessly." And it's true. He's always liked the plays where the couple ends happily – always likes the stories about true love and kissing the beast makes him a man. He likes thinking that's a possibility in life – in his life, specifically, but as long as he can see it in action... _Being a hopeless romantic and a pessimist,_ Kuja thinks, _is probably the worst thing to be._

"Well, then." Blank stretches and then leans against the window, grinning at Kuja, "I guess we're going to give that lizard guy a run for his money, aren't we?"

"What do you mean...?"

"It's _obvious_." Blank laughs, "Ruby always thought I was so stupid. Man, I can see straight through you, like a plate of glass." He reaches out and grabs Kuja's hands, becoming serious, causing the Genome to blink in confusion. "Give me until I leave Treno to woo you away from that other guy, or until he gets his act together. He was giving me glares like he wanted you all to himself, but you say he doesn't want you at all. So, I figure," Blank flushes suddenly and then grins wide, "If I can't get you two in bed by the end of my stay, it means I should have you instead. Does that work for you?"

Kuja looks at their hands and then smirks, looking up, "You mean to tell me that you want to play a game of 'let's make Amarant jealous'?"

"You make it sound so dangerous," Blank frowns, looking a little put off.

Kuja grins, "You have no idea just how dangerous it is." He leans over and then, in the simplest way he can, kisses Blank on the cheek. "I like it."

* * *

Ruby sits on the bed in Amarant's room, kicking her feet along the wood floor and looking at the bounty hunter in mild amusement. "Sorry it isn't too big – we don't get a lot of passengers other than ourselves." 

"No matter. It'll just be me, after all." Amarant snorts and looks in the mirror, grimacing slightly, "Kuja can share that ragdoll's bed."

"Now, see, that's the first thing we'll have to work on – you need to accept the fact that you're jealous." Ruby gives him an annoyed look, "If you're always so impersonal, it's no wonder loverboy's going for Blank!" She reaches over the bed and pokes him sharply in the side, causing him to wince. "Well, what's that?"

He glares at her, realizing his mistake much too late. "Woman, don't you even _think-_"

She yells and bounces off the bed, pouncing on the bounty hunter and, without further ado, tickling him.

Amarant isn't someone who really likes to be touched by random people. He's also one of those people who likes to remain stoic during times when others are at higher levels of emotion.

Tickling Amarant Coral when he's trying to remain stoic is like grabbing an easily startled chocobo from behind and shaking vigorously.

Ruby looks vaguely surprised to find Amarant so easily felled but she recovers quickly, grinning evilly and running her fingers along his sides. He chokes and tries to shove her off, but god_damn_ he can't stop _laughing_!

"What the..."

Ruby stops and looks up, eyes widening slightly – Amarant manages to calm down and tilt his head back, looking at Kuja and Blank from an upside down view.

Amarant, who's eloquence is beautiful, speaks first. "Um."

"Hi y'all. Kuja," Ruby chimes, taking everything in a stride, "Did you know that this big guy's _ticklish_?"

"...No," the Genome says, crossing his arms, "No, I didn't. There's quite a bit about Amarant I _don't_ know, it seems."

Blank looks from Kuja to Amarant, then bites his lip, looking at Ruby. "What are you doing, anyways?" he asks.

"Oh, I was asking Amarant here about this missing lady of yours," she nods to Kuja, who blinks, "And he said y'all were real worried. Then I poked him, and... well." She holds out her hands, still straddling his stomach, "You can see where that leads."

"Get _off_ of me, woman," Amarant growls, and she does so, standing up and stepping over him to sit on the bed. The bounty hunter rolls over and gets up, looking at Kuja warily. He doesn't look happy.

"Him, worried about Janelle?" Kuja scoffs, "He didn't even want to come." The Genome turns and stalks out of the room, and Blank looks from Ruby to Amarant before following quickly.

"God_damn_ son of a _bitch_ I'm going to _kill_ that god_damned_ rag-doll-"

"Amarant, now, calm down!"

Amarant glares at Ruby. If she hadn't... then... "This is, in some cosmic way, _entirely_ your fault."

"Look, I just barely met you and I can see it ain't no one's fault but your own that Kuja's slipping away from you." The girl crosses her arms, pouting. "And I can't say I blame him, you great big jerk! I'll bet he's never even seen you laugh like that before."

"That's because he has enough damned sense not to tickle a bounty hunter three times his _size_ and about five times as _strong_." Amarant looks at the mirror again, rubbing his beard in annoyance.

"That's a lie," Ruby snorts, "You're not stronger than that Kuja."

The bounty hunter looks at her as if she's grown a second head. "You have to be kidding me."

She smiles, and stands. "Look at yourself, sugar." She slinks up as sexily as she possibly can, and leans up against him. He stares at her some more. "I'm an absolutely gorgeous woman and here you are, fretting over that little monkey-tailed guy." She smirks, "Boy, you've got it so bad you don't even _realize_ it yet. He could ask you to kill a thousand men and you probably would. He's completely _overpowered_ you."

"You're crazy." Amarant frowns and pushes her away, going to the bed and sitting. "Maybe you just aren't pretty enough for me. I like my girls a lot smaller."

"You like your girls with silver hair and monkey tails. Preferably without the girly bits," she chuckles, easily pulling herself up on top of the chest of drawers. "Face it, darlin', he's got you wrapped up around his finger. Now then, how to get you to realize it..."

"Look," Amarant sighs and shakes his head. "Even if I wanted him, I'm not going to have him." He waves a hand towards the mirror, "Take a look, woman. You've got a three times too big man who can hardly eat better than a _dog_, and then you've got Kuja... three times too _small_ who knows what every single damned fork is used for, and when to use them. I'm assuming that actor can at least _act_ like he gets it. Hell, you guys can even blend in alright with nobles."

"Hey, don't-"

"I stand about two feet over them, wear battle gear instead of tuxedoes – for god's sake, I wear _cotton_ and that man wears fucking _silk_!" He shakes his head. "Goddamn, I was better off with Lani. At least she was on my _level_."

"Oh, who gives a crap about levels!" Ruby crosses her arms and kicks the drawers in annoyance. "Your angst is great, and all, but did you see the way he _glared_ at me when he saw me on top of you? You might wear cotton, but boy, he'd rather you both be wearing _nothing_." She's using his own analogy against him, and goddamn if she isn't good.

"You must be bored out of your skull if this is how you entertain yourself. Do you really get kicks out of trying to unwind my mind?"

Ruby sighs. "Darlin', you have no idea how much your mind _needs_ to be unwound. Now, then... I'm gonna go talk to Baku about your duties and then I'll come back. I've got some serious questions that need to be answered..." She slides off the chest and goes to the door, opening it and looking around, before turning and grinning, "But first, I gotta figure out what they are. See you in a bit, sugar."

He doesn't respond and she shuts the door.

* * *

"That... That..." Kuja makes a very aggravated noise and a shiver runs through him, "That _idiot_!" 

"Hey..." Blank puts a hand on the Genome's shoulder, "I know Ruby. Believe me, she goes for scrawny guys, not big guys. Besides, half of the time she's more worried about her hair than the people around her. She was telling the truth."

"I wasn't talking about _her_," Kuja mutters, crossing his arms, "I was talking about Amarant. That stupid _oaf_, letting her..."

"You're really not lifting my spirits much, you know," Blank complains idly, "I'm trying to seduce you, remember?" He puts his other hand on Kuja's other shoulder and starts kneading the muscles – _Damned actor, with his... kneading hands and such..._

Kuja sighs, deflating slightly, "At this rate I'll probably jump in your arms. He's so... _untraceable_. I don't understand where he's _going_ or what he's _getting_ at. You say he glares at you like he wants me?"

"Mmhmm." Blank doesn't sound too worried. This reassures Kuja, for some reason.

"Then why would he let her get so close when he..." Kuja throws his hands up in the air, disrupting Blank, who blinks as the Genome spins to face him. "You'd sleep with me, right?"

The actor opens his mouth, closes it, and then opens it again. The second time, something comes out – "Um..."

"I mean," Kuja clarifies, "If we shared a bed for three months, you'd have slept with me by now, right?"

"Well – yeah. I mean, I want to sleep with you _now_ and I haven't even known you that long."

"Then why doesn't he!" Kuja groans and flops down on the bed, covering his eyes with his hands. "I don't get it – I can kiss him and he's fine with it, but he just... _Gah!_"

Kuja's surprised the sound even came out the right way. He's never been out of words before, and he's never been so exasperated.

"Maybe he... I don't know." Blank sits down beside Kuja, looking at him halfway. "I don't get it either, you know."

"I'm not surprised. I don't understand him. He's so... _strange_. I'm not used to unscripted characters and adlibbed lines. It's as if a play just got interrupted by someone jumping down from the rafters and throwing everything out of place."

"I think I understand _that_, at least. Look... Sometimes you have to work with what you're given. There's this playhouse in Alexandria that I went to with a friend once – they only had an opening bit of script, but then you adlibbed the whole way through. You had to learn to adapt to changes – it was awkward at first and I didn't like it... but then I realized that not everything needs to be scripted out for me." Blank puts his hand on Kuja's, and the Genome looks at it before looking at Blank curiously. "Sometimes, you've just gotta go with the flow."

"Hmm." Kuja smirks, "Does this _flow_ involve me getting undressed for you at any point in time? Because my script just doesn't seem to follow that."

Blank pouts, "Hey, I tried, didn't I?"

"You tried too hard. My _brother_ couldn't have wooed his lover with speeches like that."

Blank frowns, "You have a brother?" He grins, "Would his script change for me?"

Kuja laughs, shaking his head. "My brother is dutifully engaged to a rather high-classed woman at the moment. I doubt he would break away from her for anything."

"Well... It was worth a try."

Kuja grins at the actor but he doesn't feel too much different from before. He hopes that he doesn't have to make up his lines from here on out – that would lead to more endless waiting. He shakes his head. Maybe his happily ever after isn't going to go according to plan.

However, there's still another act to go through, and maybe, by curtain call, he can take his bow like planned.

* * *

Rushed ending. Forgive me? ALL I WANTED WAS TO MAKE IT GOOD FOR YOU. 


	3. People Are Strange

A/N: I JUST MET A GIRL NAMED MARIA – AND SHE TOOK ALL OF MY PAPER

Okay yeah I'm back! CHAAAA! This chapter is more of Mopey!Amarant, indecisive relationships, and HIDDEN things. Next chapter will be from someone else's POV, just warning you.

* * *

Amarant sighs and shakes his head, running a hand through his hair as Ruby blathers on about how Baku took a whole hour to convince that neither he nor Kuja needed to do work for him. He's too used to girls talking about stupid things, and this worries him slightly. 

He's a little more worried over the fact that he hasn't tried to bed the girls he's met as of late, but he chalks it up to Kuja and leaves it at that.

"Kuja probably would like it if you listened to him," Ruby cuts in on his thoughts, and he looks at her from his position on the bed.

"I listen to Kuja. But only-"

"When he talks about stuff _you_ like, right?" She clicks her tongue. "You know, one day, someone is going to say something that you'll need to hear, and then-"

_"Amarant, are you listening to me?" Lani asks, arms crossed, " I swear to god, you never listen to a word I say. Let me guess, all you care about is yourself!" He doesn't respond, continues cleaning his claws, and pretends she's not talking at all. "Hey, Coral! Goddamn it-"_

"-say something, would you? I hate it when people go loopy on me."

Amarant blinks and looks at Ruby in confusion, shaking his head. "What were you saying?"

She sighs. "I was _saying_ that someday someone is going to say something important, but you're going to miss it. I'll bet Kuja's already said something that could help you figure out why he's been so angry at you-"

"I know exactly why he's angry at me," Amarant mutters, rubbing his beard. The lapses into his memories are starting to get annoying.

"Well, what is it?"

Amarant looks at the girl and shakes his head. "I'm not..."

"Don't start that crap again," the girl chides, "I thought we decided you weren't going to angst around my ship anymore?"

"More like _you_ decided. Why are you even here, anyways?"

"My job on this boat is to play peacemaker. If you're upset, Ruby's here to help. That's the whole deal. Now, then, other than the fact that he's the diamond and you're the rough, why do you have such issues with yourself?"

"Myself?" Amarant raises an eyebrow, "You're kidding. I don't have issues with myself." Ruby crosses her arms and looks at him with the most serious woman face he's ever seen. "...Okay, maybe I have one or two, but I'm not in the mood to talk about myself."

"What _are_ you in the mood for, then? All it seems is that you want to mope and let Blank play blind date with your man."

"Kuja is _not_ my 'man'. I don't-"

The look returns.

"...Kuja is Kuja. I don't give a shit what he does; it's not my problem, or my place."

Ruby makes a noise and then throws her hands in the air. "Okay, fine. You can sit here and mope but once we get into Treno and Blank goes out with Kuja, chances are you're going to lose him."

"...Wait," Amarant frowns, eyes narrowing, "Go out?"

"Well, _duh_." She puts her hands on her hips, "I heard Blank talkin' to Marcus about it. He's _real_ excited. He said that's why you two are on the boat, 'cos that boy of yours promised him a date."

Amarant remembers Kuja telling him that, just yesterday. How the hell was he supposed to remember _that_? He can barely remember the past week, much less one small statement late at night.

"Wow," Ruby breathes, "You look angry."

"I'm _not_ angry." He sounds angry, that's for sure.

"Maybe I should go talk to Kuja, for you?" He glares at her, and she holds up her hands. "I think I have this figured out – there's nothin' _wrong_ 'tween you two, just some misunderstanding or something. It's probably nothing, and by tonight-"

Amarant stands suddenly and she goes silent, blinking up at him in confusion. "Look... _Ruby_. I get it, okay? I know what's wrong, just as much as Kuja does. The thing is that we," he points to himself and then over her shoulder, in the general direction of where Kuja might be if he's lucky, "Don't know _what_ we are. And because we don't know what we are, we can't be anything at all. Does that make sense to you?"

"Not... Well. I suppose..."

"Alright. Now, leave me to my moping, would you? You're starting to get on my nerves."

She looks at him for a while, then shakes her head. "I hope you... Ah, what am I sayin'? I just _hope_."

She leaves and, just as planned, Amarant falls back and closes his eyes, returning to his moping.

* * *

There are a few things about moping that Amarant discovers while laying on the bed in the Prima Vista. First, it really doesn't do much of anything – other than make you even more depressed. Second, time goes a lot slower while you mope, so one hour seems like days. Third, it's no fun at all. 

The bounty hunter sighs and stands up, stretching. The room has no windows but he can tell that night's settled already – the time is so strange when moving between continents. He feels the beginnings of cabin fever and promptly leaves the room, deciding to wander around and hopefully get into lots of distracting trouble.

He takes the stairs up and wonders if he's going straight into the captain's cabin – he doesn't really care, either way.

It's the control room, and there's a shaky little table set up in the corner. Two of the other actors, who he hasn't met yet, are sitting at it, smoking galenas and talking quietly. One of them, wearing a bandana low over his eyes, spots him coming up and nods to him. "Hey."

"...Hey." The bounty hunter looks around, idly – he's been in control rooms before, so this isn't as interesting as he had hoped.

"Want a smoke?" the other actor asks, looking out from the shade his strange hat casts over his eyes. Amarant looks at them for a moment and then shrugs, walking to the table and leaning against the wall next to it. The one with the bandana gives him a roll and a match – he lights it and breathes deep. It's been a while since he's smoked, and, quite frankly, there was a very good reason for it. He can't remember it, but he knows there was a reason.

"So, you're a bounty hunter?" Amarant looks at the one with the weird hat, "I can tell. My name's Cinna."

"I'm Marcus," the one with the bandana says, nodding to him.

"...Amarant."

Cinna's eyes widen a fraction and he grins, "No shit? The Flaming Amarant, isn't that what they call you?"

"That's what it was, yeah." The bounty hunter feels a little relaxed and is almost excited that his reputation proceeds him. "Not so much anymore."

"Hah," Marcus snorts, blowing smoke from his nostrils, "Ruby said Blank was in deep shit – guess she wasn't kiddin'."

"Goddamn it, that woman _talks_ too much," Amarant groans.

"You're preaching to the choir, here," Cinna drawls, leaning back until his chair almost falls over, "Still, it's good we have _some_ sense on this ship." He laughs, and reaches out with a foot, poking Marcus, "Can you see us gettin' jobs with an all male crew?"

"I can't see how we get jobs with just one woman," the shorter actor mumbles, "She practically runs herself out switching from one character to another."

"Well, it's not like you get a lot of girls who have a passion for acting, like her."

Marcus laughs, now, fully, "A passion for _acting_? That woman has a passion for _everything_. Off her damned head, with all those hopes and dreams." He nods at Amarant, as if proving a point, "Just look, she wants to hook you and that prospect of Blank up. Can you _imagine_?"

Amarant takes a long drag and doesn't answer.

"Marcus, you idiot," Cinna exclaims, "You don't _tell_ people that!"

"Why the hell not? The man has a right to know what he's gotten into. I say you abandon ship as soon as we hit Treno," he advises Amarant, "Before she starts her whole matchmaker spiel."

"Remember when she tried to hook Blank up with-"

"What's goin' on in _here_, huh?"

Cinna falls back for real, landing on the floor with a tremendous clash. Marcus laughs and Amarant smirks, looking at Baku with shielded eyes.

"Ruby told me you didn't need to work. You're lucky she's the only girl on this ship," the boss says, but there's no malice in his voice and he looks as if he couldn't give less of a damn. "I would put you to work right now, if I didn't pity you."

"Why in the seven hells would you pity me?"

"Because when Ruby wants to do something, she does it. If that girl had only her imagination to sustain her, she'd be fat as a hen."

Amarant sighs, and looks at the joint, frowning. "She's got a lot to do, if that's her plan."

"You aren't gonna stop her?" Cinna asks, "After all, isn't that guy Blank's after... well, a guy?"

"So?" Amarant glances at the actor, raising an eyebrow.

"You don't _look_ like you go for guys," he says, blinking.

"You don't _look_ like you can act. What's the difference?"

"The difference is that he _can't_ act!" Marcus chuckles, and Cinna gives him a look.

Amarant laughs and puts out his smoke, looking from Baku to the two actors. "Look, don't... Just don't worry about her messing around with me," he mutters, "I don't give a crap." He turns to Baku, frowning. "...Thanks for letting us on."

"Yer welcome, just don't expect it again. We're a respectable acting troupe – we don't need bounty hunters and womanly men ruining our reputation."

Amarant gives him a long, steady look, and then chuckles. "Respectable. Mmhmm."

He leaves and heads back downstairs, to the room below.

* * *

"So, why are you guys so far away from home, anyways?" 

Kuja looks at Blank curiously, reclining on the other's bed. He likes the fact that the boy is letting him have full reign over his entire room – Amarant wouldn't _ever_ let Kuja act like he owned the world, even if he felt like he did sometimes.

"Hm?" The question remains in the air and Kuja sighs, looking out the window into the open night sky, "Oh... We, had problems... and then in Alexandria..." What could he say? He couldn't rightly tell the actor about how _he_ blew up part of the castle, could he?

"Did you see what happened?" Blank asks, leaning against the window easily, "I heard it was pretty bad."

"I... No, I didn't see what happened. I only dealt with the aftermath. I've... Before Amarant, I usually looked only at what might happen to myself. After him, I was too worried... about, well, _us_, to see what was really going on."

"Man, I really have no chance, do I?" The actor laughs, and Kuja smiles, faintly.

"Don't give up hope yet. This is the first time I've stayed away from him for so long in almost four months, you know. Considering I'm not getting annoyed with you, or anything else, I'd say you're doing fine."

"Do you really think that?" Blank looks outside and shakes his head, "I hope so."

"I'm really not that much to be won," Kuja confides, smirking, "I mean, I'm mostly skin and bones."

"Are you kidding?" Blank is grinning now, arms crossed, "You're a total _babe_. Not that I use that word for guys a lot, but man. You've got presence and a beautiful face, elegance and a _really_ nice body."

Kuja laughs, "Nice of you to balance physicality with mentality."

"Now see, that's what I don't get." Blank starts pacing, and Kuja almost doesn't notice that he's going straight for the bed. "If I was that lizard-guy-"

"Amarant," Kuja corrects.

"If I was Amarant, I wouldn't be all sullen and unresponsive to you – I'd be, well... I'd jump on you, and shout 'Take Me Now'!"

Blank actually does this, just to prove his point. Kuja laughs and he grins down at the Genome, looking pleased. "See? Now, why doesn't he just do that?"

"Because he's three times my size and thinks he can crush me with one hand?" Kuja supplies, and the actor rolls his eyes.

"My _god_, really? How dramatic." Blank swoons, "I will crush him with my iron might! Oh, fie, desolate and dreary life!"

"You really are an actor," Kuja chuckles, shaking his head.

The other grins, and leans in, nose to nose with the blushing Genome. "Thank you."

"You know," Kuja murmurs, raising an eyebrow, "You haven't shown me to my room, yet."

"Aw," the actor moans, sitting back so that he's straddling the other, "I was hoping you'd stay _here_." Kuja gives him a look and he sighs, "Okay, okay. I'll show you..."

The two leave the room and Kuja follows Blank down the hall. The actor shows him to a small room with a bed, dresser, and mirror. Kuja smiles at him. "Thank you very much, Blank. You've been wonderful."

"Hey, I do what I can," the other responds, rubbing the back of his head. The Genome moves to go inside and Blank suddenly speaks again, "Hey!"

"Hm?"

"Uh... Well, shouldn't I get, I don't know, a kiss or something?" He grins at the monkey-tailed man in what he probably hopes is a coy manner.

Kuja smiles and leans over, curling a finger under Blank's chin and lifting his face up. "If you _insist_," he drawls, before kissing him lightly.

Before either can become too enthralled, he pulls away, smiling. "Goodnight, Blank."

"...G'night."

Kuja closes the door, and is alone.

* * *

Amarant hasn't slept alone in at least three months. He thinks it might've been longer but who knows, really? All he knows is that it's been so long since he's had the bed to himself. 

He spreads himself out and stretches, feeling the entire bed under him and feeling, for the most part, grateful that tonight he and Kuja aren't sharing rooms. They haven't talked all day, and he wonders if there's really something wrong.

He knows what he can't do is what he should do, and he shakes his head, deciding to enjoy his freedom for the night.

By the end of the hour, the bed is a little too big to be comfortable, and there's a distinctly cold spot to the left of him. He sighs, and tries to sleep knowing that Kuja's on the other side of the ship – maybe in his own room, but _maybe_, just _maybe_, he's with that rag-doll of an actor...

He groans and covers his head with a pillow. It's going to be a long night.

* * *

"Hey, you big oaf, get-" 

Amarant snaps awake and sits up, sheets pooling around his waist, and glares groggily at Ruby, who's standing in the door with a grin on her face, arms crossed.

"That's _classy_."

"I w's _sleepin'_, woman. What'd you expect?" He tries to flatten his hair but it's been a while since he's tried to do anything with it, so it sticks up in rebellion. "Don't you know how to _knock_?"

"Yeah, but when you're sleeping you tend not to _hear_ it. We're almost to Treno, _and_," she closes the door and grins, "I know what Blank and Kuja are doing for their date."

"Good for _you_," Amarant groans; he had almost _forgotten_ and now the woman has to remind him. "Go away, I want to sleep more."

"That's one of the first stages of depression, you ass, so _get up_!"

Amarant groans and moves to get up, before blinking. "You're going to leave, aren't you?" he asks her, staring in confusion.

"Why should I? You're just going to go back to sleep!"

Amarant looks at her for a moment, and then smirks. Fine, if she doesn't want to leave... "Whatever," he drawls, putting his feet on the floor and then standing.

He refuses to acknowledge her for exactly one minute while he goes to the dresser and gets his clothes – when he turns to look at her, she's staring.

Unabashedly.

"...w...wow."

He grins, "That tends to be the general consensus, yeah." He pulls on his pants and she still _won't stop staring_ at him. He rolls his eyes. "Close your mouth, 'fore you swallow a bug."

Her jaw snaps shut and she blinks, flushing. "You know, you're an awful arrogant man."

"When the general reaction to seeing me naked is a woman staring with her jaw hanging, that means I _can_ be arrogant." He chuckles, "Asked you to leave."

"You could've told me _why_!"

"I'd never tell a pretty lady to leave me alone just because I'm naked. What do you think I am, completely queer?" He pulls on his shirt, and she rolls her eyes.

"With that kind of shirt? Do you _need_ me to answer?"

Amarant looks down at the black shirt with netting, and shrugs. "Kuja got it for me while I was playing bodyguard for him."

"You know, I really don't get why you two are even around in the first place."

Amarant frowns. "He needed help, I helped him. Then we needed to leave the Mist continent for a while, so we did."

"How... simplistic." She can tell, easily as he can lie, that there is more to the story, but she doesn't pry and leaves Amarant grateful. "Come on. Where will you two go once you get off the ship? I heard Blank mention the inn, but..."

"The inn," he repeats, "We'll probably go there first. Janelle works there – if she isn't back yet I don't know where she could be." Lani will probably be there too – she tends to take up space in the easiest places possible. Hopefully, she'll leave him well enough alone, at least concerning Kuja.

The ship is alive – actors and band members are running about, shouting orders for docking, and Amarant shifts through them easily enough, finding Kuja sitting on a large costume trunk, legs crossed and tail draped next to him.

"Hey," he mutters, and Kuja looks up at him. "What's going on?"

"We're docking," Kuja states the obvious, "Where have you been?"

"Sleeping. We going to the inn first?"

Kuja shrugs his shoulders, getting that helpless look that he gets sometimes, when he doesn't know what to do. "Yes. Hopefully, Arok or Lani will be there to give us some information on Janelle. Do you think they found her yet?"

"I don't know. Maybe – maybe not." Kuja sighs, and Amarant shakes his head. "What's up?"

"I don't think anything of interest is _up_," Kuja drawls.

"You know what I mean."

"Do I?"

The ship lurches to the right, and Kuja blinks, sliding off of the trunk. Amarant reaches out and loops an arm around him, catching him before his knees even hit the ground, pulling him up.

"You okay?"

"I – that's a layered question, Amarant," the Genome murmurs, and pulls away as Blank dashes past them, shouting an easy greeting.

Moments later, the ship jerks forward and Amarant again grabs Kuja to keep him from reeling. Blank comes up to them and frowns, before grinning.

"Well, everybody," he shouts to the group still struggling with lines and set pieces, "Welcome to Treno! Keep your pockets light and your hands lighter!"

Ruby giggles and then latches suddenly onto Amarant's arm, earning a scowl from Kuja. "Well, sugar, show me to this Lani girl you were talkin' about!"

Amarant is forcibly dragged from the ship and he swears that, for all the good the girl wants to do, she's just backtracking ten paces.

This is proven when Blank comes out with Kuja, arm around his waist.

He wonders how fast his bounty would be reinstated, if he were to murder a scrawny little rag-doll actor.

* * *

SUPER REVIEWER NUMBER ONE! 


	4. Unchained Melody

A/N: Gah. I wish this plot wasn't in this fic – it'd be so much easier for me to write. HOWEVER this is how it works. Next chapter will have more Amarant and Kuja.

I'm so, so sorry for how this chapter turned out. It's not nearly as good as I wanted it to be, and stuff needed to change to make the whole fic work, so it went from neato to meh. BUT NO MATTER. Like I said, this fic's more for fun and closure than REVIEWS so it makes no difference, right?

* * *

Janelle loves nature; trees, flowers, animals, the sky, the grass. It all eases her away from the life she's come to realize as her own – silly little barmaid who gets good tips and doesn't have much responsibility because she's just so _small_. 

It's not that she's _abnormally_ short – people called her petite – but she was skinnier and smaller and weaker than most people were used to for a twenty-something girl. She still gets mistaken as a young girl sometimes – people who know her tease her and ask, "Are you lost, little girl?" when they see her wandering around the upper rings.

But in nature, no matter where, she feels a little less aggravated with her vaguely dissatisfying position in life and she just feels _better_.

Staying with Arok and Byrd, even if Arok's sister is around, makes her just a little more aggravated with her vaguely dissatisfying position in life, so she needs just a little more nature to fill her.

Treno has one forest next to it – a relatively large one, though some of it has been cut down for lumber. She does just this, trying to find the center of it, gauging just how deep she is by the sunlight and the moss and the footprints on the ground.

She finds a bush with sweet berries growing on them and grins, sitting and taking a few, popping one in her mouth and looking around. The berries remind her of when she lived in Alexandria with her family – her mother had grown bushes of these in front of the house and every season, she'd let the neighborhood kids come and eat all of them. But, there was always a bush untouched, just for the family.

She hears a branch crack and stiffens, continuing to chew and pretending like she didn't hear it. Maybe whatever animal it is will go away...

There's muttering, and she frowns, standing suddenly and turning on her heels, looking out into the forest in confusion. She's alone, isn't she?

Another branch cracks from above and she looks up. The tops of the trees are dense and she can only see shadows...

Hands grab her and she screams, loud and long, right into her assaulter's ear.

They shake her roughly and she snaps her eyes shut, about to scream again, but a hand loops over her mouth and she can hardly breathe, much less make noise.

"Following her around is a _bitch_," a voice growls from behind her and she winces. She didn't even notice!

"I wonder if that fucking bounty hunter is going to come for her, after all? I mean, she's just a little kid."

"Shut up," the first voice says, pulling Janelle tight against him. She grits her teeth and breathes hard. "Do you hear that?"

"I don't hear anyth-"

There is a crack and a solid thump as something – _someone_ – hits the ground. The man releases Janelle, who quickly falls to her knees, covering her head.

"What the _fuck_ is _that-_"

"Mission-"

There's another crack and a yell. Janelle covers her ears with her hands, refusing to look up. _If I don't look up,_ she insists, begs, hopes, _If I don't look up it won't come after me!_

"Retrieve princess-"

Another crack and a scream, and then something acrid and disgusting sweeps by her, filling her nose and making her feel sick.

"_Alive_, eliminate-"

Hands are on her shoulders and she ducks her head, eyes shutting tighter.

"_All_."

"Don't hurt me!" she cries out, and the hands leave her shoulders suddenly. There's an awful cracking noise and she feels someone still _too_ close to her. "Go _away_!"

Janelle's eyes open and she stares at absolutely nothing.

The two men who attacked her lay on either side of her, looking beaten and slightly charred but alive – barely. And there's the sound of more feet coming.

"Where'd they go?"

"I think they said she was over here-"

Janelle rises to her feet and steps back, hands over her mouth. More people are coming, and this is probably the worst place she could possibly be. She backs up and then turns, running in a direction she hopes leads to Treno. Once she gets to Arok, she'll be okay – once she gets out-

She trips and stumbles, falling to her knees. She makes a noise and gets up, pushing hair out of her eyes – she knows she should keep running but she knows that she has to look –

It's staring at her from the ground, red eyes glowing dimly from the shade of its huge mage's hat. Its clothes are tattered and dirty, and she swears there's mold growing on it – as if it hasn't moved in a very long time.

She puts her hands to her mouth again and stumbles back into a tree, staring at the thing in front of her. It makes a move to get up, and its back cracks horribly. Suddenly, she sees them – what first looked like a shredded cloak shudders and then rises – two wings reach for the sky and twitch, trying to move. Bone is visible and the wings look as if they've been stripped of all meat in most places.

"Oh m-m-my g-god..."

"Only... kill," the thing rasps, back cracking again, "Only...t..."

It gasps and stays still.

"I think I heard something over here!"

"Get that bitch, look what she did to-"

"-How'd she do it?"

"Looks like a lightning spell-"

"Find her!"

The thing twitches and then suddenly lurches up onto its knees, staring at the ground it had been occupying in dull acceptance. "Only to kill."

"W-W...What...?"

It looks at her and she can see dark skin, "...go," it hisses.

She can't move as it stands and stalks towards her; her legs refuse to move.

"There she is!"

She turns and backs into the thing, yelping and spinning to face it. She's stuck – the men are coming straight from _behind_ her, how'd they get there? And now she has this thing blocking her path.

"There- what in the name of god is that!"

There's the sound of thunder and suddenly a lightning bolt cracks down onto one of the men. The three remain standing as their fourth falls, eyes rolling and no, he's not going to survive.

"Oh my _god_!" Janelle cries, covering her eyes.

"Get it!"

Another crack and another falls. "Only to kill," it mumbles, holding out a hand – a hand more like a claw – and sending a rumble through the air, "Run and dance and _skip-_"

_Crack_.

The thing makes a noise and its eyes dim to near black, stumbling forward and hitting Janelle, who screams.

"I think it's dead!"

"Grab the girl, let's go!"

One reaches out to grab Janelle, who looks at him – she sees anger, he blames her for the deaths – and suddenly two clawed hands grab her shoulders. Eyes, flaring red, lock onto the man, who stops in mid-pace, staring at the thing in terror.

"_STAY AWAY_."

Its wings fan out as best they can, and it snarls, causing thunder to roll and shake the very earth.

"_Run_, you idiot!" the third calls and the fourth man backs up, before turning and scrambling away.

It falls to its knees and lets go of her shoulders, chest heaving. The eyes dim again and he looks at her.

"Safe... princess. Safe now."

"I..." She looks around, eyes wide. She has no idea where she is – this isn't good. She ran in a direction she can't remember, and everything looks the same – the shadows are getting larger.

"Sleep... Can I?"

"What?" She looks at the thing and it stares at her blankly; she can see the tip of his nose and some hair around his face. He looks a lot like the black mages that she saw in Lindblum almost a year ago and she bites her lip. "Are you... okay?"

"Retrieved the princess," it mumbles, "Sleep?"

"Where do you live?"

"Sleep?"

"Are you from around here?"

"Saved princess." She bites her lip and shakes her head.

"Are you from Treno?"

It jerks its head up and stares at her. "...Alexandria...?"

"Is that where you're from? We should try getting you home."

"N...No home." It looks at her, eyes dim. "No home."

It starts to laugh, "You're not... not the princess."

"...N...No, I'm not..."

"Saved you for nothing," it giggles. It cracks its back and wheezes, eyes blacking out for a moment.

"You need help," she murmurs because she doesn't leave people – things – that need help.

"Need to sleep. Hut's that way." It points vaguely east, and then staggers to its feet, stumbling through the brush and leaning on trees.

Morbid curiosity causes Janelle to follow the thing; she's lost, and it seems to know where it is in the forest. Maybe it will give her some direction, or at least a hint.

"Following?" it asks, looking over it's shoulder as it leans on a tree for a moment.

"...Well, yes."

"Fine." It continues and finally they reach a clearing. Janelle stares in confusion at the naturally made hut that the thing is heading towards. It's very small – only about ten feet wide – but very tall, due to the trees, which are tilted violently inward, because of soft soil and the contours of the land, all pointing their branches up and creating a dome of sorts. The gaps between the trees are covered by thick saplings, stacked up and bound with vines and makeshift ropes, and the only entrance is what looks like a large blanket tied to a thick branch.

"W...What is this?"

"Place to sleep," it mutters, and enters the natural hut. Janelle follows, quickly, pushing the flap to the side and entering.

The ground inside is smoothed out dirt, and there's a stump off to one side that serves as a table. The center of the hut has an open hole in the ceiling, and a ring of large rocks that surround a pile of branches, which the thing is hovering over. There is a crack and lightning hits the wood, igniting the pile.

The thing looks at her for a long time, and then goes to a pile of hay. It's covered with a thick skin – some furred animal, probably a bear, must have gotten on its bad side.

"Um," Janelle begins, and the thing looks at her for a second before sitting on the hay, focusing on her fully. In the light from the fire, it's eyes are even brighter than before, and it looks... alive. Unlike before. Its wings stretch and it shrugs its shoulders.

"Can't help you."

"I just wanted to know... do you know which way Treno is?"

The thing sighs and looks around, before pointing off to the left. "That way. Two miles, perhaps."

"...Thank you." She starts backing up to the door, when it shakes its head.

"Not tonight. Never make it tonight."

"...What are you-"

"Bandits made a home out that way. They want you, they'll look for you. Walk right into them."

"I..."

"Stay. Promise I don't bite. Mostly shock. Shock, appall, amaze." It yawns, suddenly. "You tire me."

Janelle doesn't know what to say. The thing tilts its head to the side and stares at her for a while. She fidgets, and suddenly it laughs.

"What?" she asks, feeling caught between fear and annoyance.

"Funny humans." It shrugs and then, with no ado, takes off its hat.

She puts a hand to her chest and stares, unabashedly. Its skin is black – pitch black. She had thought it was the shade of its hat... Its hair is ratty and reaches its shoulders, also black, and its nose is curved and pointed. It frowns – she can see the contours of its lips now that some light is reflecting onto them – and crosses its arms. "Staring makes me angry."

"I didn't mean to," she apologizes, "I've just never... seen a black mage without its hat before."

The thing scoffs. "Black mage, no." It grins, and she sees yellowed teeth, "Black _Waltz_."

"What's that?" she asks, blinking.

"Bigger, better, faster." He points at her, scowling, "And not an it, neither are black mages. He's, most of the time."

"Oh... I'm sorry." She tilts her head, "What happened to your wings?"

He glares at her and she closes her mouth. "None of your business. Best be quiet."

"Sorry," she murmurs again.

"Get angry when I'm fighting," he mutters, waving a hand. "Stop seeing black and white and only see gray." He twists and lays on his side, staring at her and propping his head up on a clawed hand. "Start mixing things up, like princesses and paupers. Get confused, and then more angry." He closes his eyes – there's a difference between when he closes his eyes and when they go dim, she realizes – and adds, "Make me mad, I fight, make me fight, I go mad."

"That's... um..."

"Not gonna hurt you," he drawls, "Wouldn't bother. No meat, no food; no fur, no warmth. No annoyances, no anger, no madness." An eye opens, "Get it?"

She pales. "I wish I didn't."

* * *

The fire dies down as the night progresses, and Janelle stares at the embers in contemplation. She came out for an _hour_, that was _it_, and ends up getting caught up in a whole load of bad things. 

"Arok, I am going to kill you," she mutters.

"Hm?"

The waltz looks at her idly, and she shakes her head. "Nothing," she murmurs, "Do you know... those bandits, will they leave by tomorrow?"

Yellow teeth bared in a grin, and then, "Won't be alive tomorrow morning. Beast's been wandering, probably got them by now."

She gulps, "A...A beast?"

"No," he sighs, "The beast. Only one in the forest I won't kill, that's him. Probably ate them by now." He rubs his stomach, "Too bad, would've been good."

She gulps, and he looks at her curiously.

"What, not good enough for you?" he shakes his head, "Might be tough, but food is food."

"I'm not a cannibal!" she exclaims, pale, "That's _sick_."

"You never eat people, because you have chocobo and beast." He points to himself, "I eat what I want. I don't say eating a chocobo is sick, you shouldn't say the same about human."

"But... It's just, would you eat a black mage?"

"No, they taste horrible."

She makes a noise and stares determinedly into the fire.

"Tomorrow morning, leave and go straight from the door and continue that direction. Treno is there."

"...Thank you."

"I eat lots of things," he growls, "But I don't like people who devour." She stares at him, uncomprehending. "People who want to devour other people are like me, and I don't like me."

"What do you mean?" She frowns, "Why don't you like yourself?"

"Meaningless things annoy me, and I am meaningless." He closes his eyes, looking tired, "I exist only to kill. My duty cannot be fulfilled, therefore I am meaningless."

"That's a morbid way of looking at things."

He chuckles, "I eat people."

"Yes, well, that's morbid too." She looks around. "I don't see people come to this forest often. Where in the world would you find people to eat?"

"I'm looking at one," he drawls, and she gulps.

"...If... Why did you save me, from those bandits?"

He shrugs. "Don't like people who devour. They wanted to devour you," he grins here, and she feels cold seep into her stomach, "So did I. Much more literal sense, in my case. But you looked like..."

"Your princess?" she offers when he's silent. He shrugs.

"The queen. Thought you looked like the queen and I forgot that she didn't need to be retrieved anymore."

Janelle blinks. "Wait... You wanted to retrieve Queen Garnet? When?"

"She left, my master ordered me to get her, I went. Didn't get her, monkey-tailed thief stopped me, tried again, rusty armor stopped me. Hid, forgot, hunted, remembered, traveled, mourned," he ticks them off on one hand, "Didn't think much, thought too much."

"...Your master? Do you mean Queen Brahne?"

"No," he chuckles, "She was a puppet too."

"Then who?"

"Man. Silver hair, small, never told me his name, just told me orders."

She bites her lip and looks away. "You don't know his name?" She thinks, maybe, she does. She wouldn't believe it, but maybe.

"No. Died, anyway. Heard it from the queen." She looks at him and his wings flap a little, "Have ways of finding things. He died, so now I have no master to serve and no purpose to fulfill. Meaningless." He grabs the bearskin and throws it to Janelle, who catches it, confused. "No matter, drifting is interesting. Sleep, you're tired. I won't eat you tonight."

"I'm sorry, but that doesn't make me feel much safer."

"I said I won't eat you, even though I'm hungry. That means I really won't." He tilts his head up to look at the hole in the roof, then back at her, grinning again. "Cross my heart."

"...Okay..." She leans against one of the trees and wraps the blanket around herself, closing her eyes.

She just barely hears him mutter, "If I had organs like a heart," but she's too close to sleep to really care.

* * *

It's freezing when Janelle wakes up, and still dark, though she can tell from the hole in the roof that it's almost dawn. The embers are dead and she feels a little disoriented – she had been watching them one moment and now... 

She stands and stretches – in about a half an hour to an hour, she estimates, she can leave and follow the Waltz's directions. Speaking of which...

She doesn't know why she feels the need to watch over things and take care of things. Until she was sixteen, she insisted that all she wanted was to be left alone, and that she didn't care for things in the way girls should.

There was something, when she was seventeen, that must have changed her, but damned if she can't remember it.

She wraps the blanket over herself as she walks around the dark hut, remembering that the fire pit is in front of her and the table is behind – she moves around without feeling anything but the floor.

He's laying on his side – back to the rest of the hut – and his arms are wrapped around himself. His wings lay almost flat, occasionally twitching, and something... Something doesn't seem right.

She touches his shoulder – it's cold. Leaning over him, she looks down and feels something grab her throat.

His eyes are open, but they look as if the color has almost completely faded out – he's staring straight ahead and his mouth is open, slack.

"Oh _no_," she murmurs, quickly putting the skin over him, "Wake up!" She shakes his shoulder.

"...hm..."

"Are you alright?" she asks, looking at him nervously, "Are you okay?"

"...hn... s-s-stupid human," his teeth rattle and his voice is soft, "Y-y-you c-c-can go n-n-now. The b-bandits are g-g-gone."

"You're _freezing_," she exclaims quietly.

"N-Not cold. J-Just dying."

She pulls away quickly and stares at his back for a long while. "What do you mean, dying?"

"One foot in the grave," he mumbles, pulling the skin tighter around himself, "W-We don't have a long lifespan. I am the oldest alive. Gotta die sooner or later."

"Well, don't die _now_," she exclaims, "Do you need anything?"

"A hole six feet d-deep."

She sighs and sits on the hay, watching his eyes dim and brighten – not very much, but still noticeable – and looking at his wings. They looked like they had been burned...

The sun rises – she stretches and rubs her arms, because now it'll be warm. She watches the Waltz slowly stop shaking and finally, he shifts, sitting up slowly and twisting so he can sit up properly.

"What are you still doing here?" he asks, looking at her with eyes that burn red and don't look dim at all.

"Watching." She feels... somewhat responsible for him, as she always tends to feel – _He's just like Arok,_ she groans inwardly, _I'm going to be fawning over him now, too_.

"Go away. I told you how to go to Treno, go."

She shifts, pushing her hair out of her eyes. "Don't you want company?"

"Why would I want the company of a scrawny human I can't even _eat_?" he grumbles, and she flushes.

"I don't know – I just thought you might..."

"Might? Not much I might do." He gets up and she moves out of his way – he pulls his hat on and turns to face her. "Wander, wander, bored to tears. Meaningless means no meaning, means I don't give purpose to anyone. Now, go, before I revoke my statement about _not_ eating you." He points at the door, just to prove his point.

"...Alright," she frowns, standing. "But... I work at the inn in Treno. If you need anything, come tell me. I'll help you."

He stares at her for a long while, eyes narrowed, before dropping his hand. "Fine."

"Thank you for helping me yesterday," she adds, and pushes the flap to the side.

The Waltz shakes his head. "Funny humans."

Janelle shakes her head and starts in the direction he told her to go, crossing her arms. "Funny mages."

She can smell Treno now, which tends to smell like stagnant water and rich foods, and smiles. Arok is going to be worried sick.

A pair of hands reach out.

She doesn't scream; it all goes black.

* * *

Istanbul, not Constantinople. 


	5. Oh La La La Radio Mix

A/N: NEW CHAPTER LOL. I have no idea what's going on. The plots are laid out, now I just need to execute them. One of these chapters is going to be hardcore. Anyways, you get some background on the Lani/Amarant dynamic. I love writing that. Dialog is fun.

Oh, lets pimp – I've got an Amarant fic posted here, and might have an Amarant/Zidane fic sometime in the near future, I'll let you all know. And, go read pretty much anything by Karu Leonnese because she writes Amarant so nicely! OH, and how can I forget – if you haven't acquainted yourself with StarWolf the Insane and her fics, you might as well go away until you have.

WOO PIMPING at the beginning of a long ass chapter. 10 pages, man.

* * *

Amarant feels incredibly foolish with Ruby on his arm, and mutters it many times during their walk to the inn. He can feel Kuja's eyes on his back, and knows Blank must be confused as hell – Kuja tends to do that to people. 

The inn is ahead and he can feel his feet moving just a little faster – the letter took about a week to get, and if Janelle has been missing for that long...

He opens the door.

Lani looks up from behind the counter, blinks, and then single-handedly leaps over the counter and attaches herself to Amarant. Ruby takes a courtesy step back, hands on her hips and a smile on her face.

"Ama'! Didn't think I'd see you again, since you've been dead and all." She suddenly pulls away, and smacks his shoulder. "Did you think you could just leave without telling me what the hell's been going on? Leaving me to get information out of Arok, are you crazy?"

"A bit," the other bounty hunter consents, moving to the side so Kuja and Blank can come in. Lani looks at Kuja, then to Blank, then to Amarant, and then shrugs.

"Kuja," she nods, arms crossed. The Genome frowns.

"Arok told you everything, then," he mutters.

"Yeah," she agrees, "Everything he knew. You're going to have to tell me more later. Luckily, I know that staying around Amarant too long can make even perfect people like you and I go fucking _nuts_." She shoots another glare at Amarant, who shrugs.

"What about the girl?" he asks, arms crossing.

Lani frowns, and moves back. "...Nothing yet. It's been a week... Arok hasn't been able to go out, with his..."

"His what?" Kuja prompts when Lani trails off. She looks at him, blinking.

"He... He didn't say anything, did he?" She sighs, "Of course not. Are you going to introduce me or not, you two?"

"I'm Ruby," the actress says, grinning, "I'm Amarant's friend."

"A _friend_? Amarant?" The bounty huntress scoffs, "I didn't know he could make those."

"Amazing, isn't it?" Kuja drawls, "This is Blank. He helped us get here for free," he introduces, shooting Blank a smile. Lani frowns.

"Hi," Blank mutters, "Hey, Kuj'... I gotta go help my bros. I'll be back later for you, though. Unless we're waiting until you find your friend?"

Kuja bites his lip. "I... Come back once you're done... I need to find out what's happening."

"Alright. See you – Ruby, you coming?"

"No," Ruby exclaims, frowning, "Why would I want to help you when I can help find a missin' person? You go have fun doin' _petty_ work – I'm gonna do something worth my time."

"Hey, whatever," the actor shrugs, holding up his hands. He leaves, and Lani grins at Ruby.

"I think I like you."

"Why thank you," the actress smiles. "What's wrong with your friend, now?"

"Well..."

"Oye. Din' 'spect y' t' come so quick, Am'rant. Thought y'd take 'least a few more days."

The four turn to look at the stairs – Arok stands at the base, arms crossed, leaning against the wall. Kuja immediately goes to him. "Please tell me that's only temporary," he murmurs, touching the bandage over his left eye. The broken-nosed boy grins, shrugging.

"I could tell y'tha', but then I'd be a liar, 'n I hate liars."

"What happened to _you_?" Amarant drawls, nodding to the other hunter, "Did you lose a fight with Gilgamesh or something?"

"Naw, naw." He waves a hand, "Jus' over es'simated a boun'y, 'n, well... Y' get what y' ask for, right?"

"He wouldn't listen to me," Byrd calls from the top, heading down the stairs, "Wouldn't listen, an' he never seems to get the idea that I could be right. The bounty hunting business just ain't your thing, 'rok."

"At least I got th' boun'y, y'know? Firs' time eatin' at tha' fancy café with m' own money."

"You got the bounty?" Amarant frowns, "He took out your eye, and you still kept at it?"

"Well, y' don' stop 'less y' gonna die f'sure, y'know? An' 'sides..." Arok grins, looking a little violent, "An eye f'an eye."

"What happened to Janelle?" Kuja cuts in, "Not that I don't find this business talk enthralling, but I would like to start looking for her soon."

"Well, she went off to go play fairy princess in the forest," Byrd waves a hand, "An' she just never came back. 'rok here got real excited an' bribed the bounties off. They were about to take 'em down, you know, but he just managed to con them into taking the posters down faster."

"Fine with me," Amarant mutters, "I was getting tired of the Outer continent. We better go look for her."

"Not so fast," Lani exclaims as he turns to leave, "I can't just leave. I have to take Janelle's shifts, and Arok isn't in a condition to go looking for trouble."

"Hey, 'm too! Y' sound like m' ma."

"Besides," she continues, ignoring Arok, "I know you're hungry, I can tell, and I want to talk to you. Arok will have to go find Gilgamesh, who kind of _has_ to help." She grins at Amarant's curious look. "Let's just say I persuaded him."

"We needed a search party," Byrd drawls, "We got a search party. I say we go out now."

"I say we eat," Lani snaps, "And don't try back-talking, Arok and Byrd can get something for you and Kuja." The two make exclamations of annoyance, but she glares at them and they quickly skitter into the kitchen.

"Lani, you don't-" Lani cuts Kuja off with a wave.

"Don't worry about it. I don't hate you," she says, seriously, going over and putting a hand on his shoulder, "I just don't get you. But then again, I'm not the only one, right?"

"...You'd be surprised," Kuja mumbles. "May I have a room key? I want to take a shower."

"Yeah, sure," Byrd suddenly says, hopping past Arok and reaching under the bar counter, pulling out a key. "Do you need a room too, Amarant?"

The bounty hunter looks at Kuja, who shrugs and walks upstairs. Ruby makes an annoyed noise.

"Yeah," he mutters.

"What's with the cold shoulder?" Lani asks, sitting at one of the tables.

"Amarant, as far as I can tell, has issues with bein' less glam than Kuja," Ruby responds, sitting next to the other girl, "It's a shame, really. You can tell they want each other but neither seems to see it."

"You tell that to her when the rag-doll's around," Amarant growls, sitting down nonetheless.

"Yeah, who was that? Amarant, you're not using Kuja as an escort service, are you?"

Amarant snorts.

The door of the in opens and Lani stands up. "God, Janelle has too many duties. When we find her, I'm going to have to take some of her jobs for a while."

"You?" Amarant asks, raising an eyebrow, "You can't sit still in one place for more than a few hours."

"I lived in Die Stadt for two _years_," she grumbles, before looking to the man who entered. "Can I help you? Are you looking for a room?"

"Hm..." He looks around, and Amarant watches him with narrowed eyes. He's wearing a dark robe, with the hood over his head, and seems too... suspicious. Then again, the first thing Kuja was wearing in Treno was the same thing... "No, no room." He tilts his head. "I... heard, there was a girl here. I was looking for her."

"Oh." Lani sits back down, shaking her head. "You must be looking for Janelle. She... She isn't in right now."

"I see." The man shrugs, "When-"

Gilgamesh bursts into the inn, holding two hands over his chest as he catches his breath. "Hey, hey," he says, quickly, "I have a letter for Arok. Some guy handed it to me on the street, I think it might have to do with the barmaid you're all so worried about."

Lani stands and calls out, "Arok, get your ass in here!"

The bounty hunter leans out of the doorway, blinking, then grinning. "Hey, Gilgamesh, whatter y' doin'?"

"I have a letter for you," he wheezes, "Jesus, why do you have to work _here_, it's too damned far away."

Arok takes the letter, and opens it easily, pulling out torn parchment and going over it.

"Oh," Lani looks to the man, "I'm – were you saying something?"

"...When will-"

"Those son 'f a bitches, 'm gonna fuckin' _kill_ 'em!" Arok shouts, fist clenching around the letter and crumpling it, "What the _fuck_ d'they think they're provin'!"

"What is it?" Amarant asks, looking at the paper.

"Bastard I took out has mates! They think kidnappin' Janelle's g'nna make me give m'self t' them!"

Amarant raises an eyebrow. "Are you?"

"Well _of course_, y' bloody fool! 'M th' reason she's 'n trouble – what'd he look like, you bastard?"

Gilgamesh holds up two of his hands, the other two in his pockets, "Hey, man, don't attack the messenger. He was kind of short, had a lot of scars – really ugly. We're talking worse than _you_."

"Not th' time f'jokes," Arok growls, eyes narrowed. "'M def'nitly not in th' mood."

"This..." The group looks to the man, who shakes his head a little, "This, 'Janelle.' What does she look like?"

"Brown hair, small..." Lani shrugs, "She looks a lot younger than she is. Kind of mousy?"

Something very strange happens; the man growls and the sky growls with him.

"Hey, are you..."

"Don't bother wearing the cloak."

The man spins and Kuja crosses his arms, wearing his own dark robes, wet hair dripping on the stairs.

"Y-You..."

"It doesn't matter. Even if you wear that thing..." He shrugs, "I know you when I see you."

The man reaches up and carefully lowers his hood. Kuja smiles, easily enough. "Black Waltz Three. It's been _such_ a long time."

"...Master."

The Genome frowns, then shakes his head. "No," he mumbles, coming down the stairs, "No, don't call me that. It's Kuja."

"...What are you... I thought..."

"You know as well as I do that thinking can be a very bad habit for you."

"Wait... y'know this guy?" Arok asks, before frowning. "...Oye, y' look like a black mage 'er summin."

"A _Waltz_," he snaps, "I am a Waltz."

"...I'm surprised you can hide your wings under that," Kuja says, "They were much larger than your brothers'..."

"They are not any longer," the Waltz snarls, "They are not anything anymore. One and Two are gone, and you left _me_ alone."

"I didn't know you would survive. I didn't know you _had_ survived."

"Power got too strong, didn't it?" he hisses, "Your jesters make many remarks they thought no one would hear in a hundred years."

"I had no control over Zorn and Thorn, dearest." Kuja smiles serenely. "Why are you in Treno?"

"I was..." The Waltz pulls his hood back up. "Looking for somebody. They are not here – I must go. Stay away from me," he growls to Kuja, "I want no meaning."

He slinks out of the inn and everyone, of course, looks to Kuja. He sighs, shaking his head. "I have nothing to say. I have made mistakes and I have done things I regret. He is one of those things."

"He was looking for Janelle," Amarant growls. "If he has anything to do with her disappearance-"

"He will not have done anything to harm her," Kuja responds, eyes narrowing. "Why would he come looking, if he knew she was missing?"

Amarant crosses his arms but doesn't respond.

"Hey, 'rok, come help me with..." Byrd trails off, looking at the group from the doorway, "...What happened?"

"...N'thin'. D'n worry 'bout it, Byrd." Arok shakes his head, "Whazzit y'wanted?"

"Oh, come help me bring this food out, would you?"

Arok casts the group a look and then nods, going into the kitchen. Amarant stands.

"Not hungry." He heads up the stairs, casting a long look at Kuja, who shakes his head slightly and takes his place. He _isn't_ hungry. He wants to sleep some more and think about what he's learned about Arok – Arok, a puny little kid who lost an eye but kept at it? That is just crazy.

Maybe he isn't so bad.

It's the same room he had last time, and he sighs, sitting down on the bed and looking around idly. Same bed, same dresser... He wonders, idly, if any of his stuff is still here. No, of course not, but still, it'd be nice.

He lays back and closes his eyes, breathing deep.

He opens them when the door opens, groaning in annoyance. "What do you want, Lani?"

"You always assume it's her when someone comes into your room?" Ruby's accent drawls, and the bounty hunter sits up, stretching.

"Generally only she can be so annoying. Speak of the devil..."

Lani rolls her eyes and enters the room, Ruby following. They shut the door, and cross their arms – they look so much like each other that Amarant has to laugh.

"Now, then," Lani starts, "Why don't you fill me in here. I was of the opinion that you and Kuja were hopelessly devoted to each other, with the faking your own death for him."

"You know me too well, Lani. When have I ever been devoted to anyone, hopelessly or otherwise?" He raises an eyebrow, "I sure as hell wasn't devoted to _you_."

Ruby looks confused, and then suddenly aware of the relationship that she had previously not seen between them. She looks at Lani, expecting this to be a very severe trespassing into old territory, but Lani just grins.

"Now, you know I know that because I was just as bad. Remember that one girl?"

The two bounty hunters share a grin, "Yeah," the redhead chuckles, "What a trip."

"She had some severe mental issues, didn't she?"

"Like sittin' in her room and mopin' over a guy because he's more well off than her?" Ruby suddenly cuts in, looking slightly pale.

"Oh, really, now?" Lani asks, arms crossing, "What's this?"

Amarant puts a hand to his forehead, shaking his head in annoyance. He hates women who just can't leave shit alone. "Goddamn it, woman."

Lani easily crosses the room, and with little ado slides her legs over Amarant's waist, straddling him. "You have thirty seconds to tell me what your issue is before I _hurt_ you. And in this position," Lani rocks her hips and Amarant bites his lip, "I think I have the power."

"She said it," Amarant waves a hand to Ruby, who stands at the side looking awkward, "Do I have to use the clothes metaphor again? He's a little too... high-class for my taste."

"So why the hell have you been trailing with him for so long? Why'd you let Arok tell everyone you were dead? And," she pokes him viciously, "Why did you sleep with him?"

"I haven't slept with him, damn it!" Amarant exclaims, falling backwards onto the bed, "That's – where does everyone get that?"

"Oh, I don't know, the fact that Kuja is almost ethereal in his beauty and grace and, might I add, he's womanly looking but doesn't think like us, making him an ideal mate for a guy who never knew women were differently shaped until he was sixteen?" Lani smirks, "Did I forget anything?"

"Sixteen!" Ruby laughs, "Wow."

"Well, in his defense..." Lani leans backwards, and Amarant absently grabs her legs so she can flip upside down and not hit her head, "Eidechsen women weren't exactly the portrait of beautiful."

"Are you insulting my family?" Amarant growls, only half-angry.

"No, no. Your mother was a doll. But the rest of them... Ech."

"I think we're losin' track of the important issue here," Ruby grumbles. Lani nods in agreement. "I want a happily ever after, here, and that's not going to happen until two things happen. First," Ruby nods her head at the door, "We need to find your friend, and secondly," she points at the two on the bed, "You need to go get your monkey-tailed guy. Now then, which one comes first?"

"Well," Lani drawls, "Can't do anything about Amarant here, if he's going to be hard-"

"That's the least of my worries," Amarant chuckles.

"-to work with," Lani finishes, shooting him a glare. "But we can't do anything about Janelle, if Arok and Byrd are out looking for the guy who gave Gilgamesh the letter, and if Kuja's out with that actor..."

Amarant sits up so quickly that he dislodges Lani, who falls with an indignant "oomph."

"What?"

The bounty huntress grins coyly up at her old companion, shrugging her shoulders. "Well, you left and we ate, and then that actor kid showed up and Kuja decided that if you were out of commission for the night, we wouldn't be searching for Janelle. So, the boy convinced him to come with him to see the play that they were performing."

"Then why is she here?"

Ruby shrugs, "It's a short thing, and it only has three characters. I'm the seamstress, but really, they rip their outfits more often at the after-party than during the play."

"After-party?" Lani asks, grinning, "Is that going to be any good?"

"You might enjoy it. A lot of the roof-top viewers and sneak-ins come – never anyone of any noble blood. They tend to think we're more of an idle pastime, more than actual people."

"Depressing," Amarant mutters, thinking. If Kuja's out with Blank...

"Yeah, well, you've gotta make a living somehow." She sighs, "Doesn't matter, I'll get up there."

"Either way, Janelle can't be found at dusk with three people, and Amarant's impossible, _and_ Kuja's out for the night."

"Possibly some of the morning," Ruby agrees with Lani, "If Blank has his way."

Lani looks to Amarant, gauging his reaction carefully. With the other bounty hunter, you always have to read the lines, and then read between them, comparing, just to compare notes. His face is passive – he rubs his chin in mild irritation but hell, that could just be because two women are harassing him. It's amazing how easily he can get confused by two females, all you need is the right push...

No, there it is. His eyes – he looks exceedingly pissed off. It's like watching a dragon realize someone is encroaching on it's territory – first, confusion, then, denial, then anger, and then... acceptance, if the terms and conditions are right.

There won't be any acceptance here – Lani has waited too long and tried too hard to get Amarant _happy_ and _content_ for once in his goddamned life. She had tried it herself, found it too hard to do; Janelle had gotten her blessings but really, in the end, who could have known that Amarant would end up going for a _guy_?

Granted, Kuja was a very femme man, but still. _Kuja_?

Still... When she had asked Arok what her friend had done, once he was found out, she had been surprised. Normally, Amarant shoved people away if they got too close in front of others – she had been the only one he hadn't done that to. Then again, no man in their right mind ever pushed a woman away when that woman would help them seduce a pretty girl.

Either way, Amarant hadn't pushed Kuja away. Kuja was, in a way, just like Lani – he wasn't about to _let_ the bounty hunter act like a dick around other people.

When Amarant had been out because of that spell, Kuja had been beside the other almost every single second, using up almost all his energy on healing spells and white magic to help the other. Lani had done her part – hunting down the brothers hadn't been easy but she had done it, catching one of them off guard and getting at least a few answers out of him before... well, taking him out. She was a very revengeful person, really. She hadn't been lying to Amarant when she said she hadn't found anything out – the guy had told her what spell they used, and by the time she got that out of him he had gotten so far onto her bad side that nothing could cure it.

But Kuja had watched him, and had told Lani that he felt sick more than once. She and Janelle, by then, had figured out why, exactly, Kuja was so worried, and they understood why from the start.

So why, in god's name, _why_, were they being so _stupid_, when both of them really just needed to get over themselves, be happy, and shag each other senseless –

"Wait, Ama'... You said you never actually _slept_ with Kuja? Like..." Lani waves a hand and looks at him curiously.

"That's what I said, wasn't it?" he replies, sounding vaguely hostile.

"...Well, why the hell not? I know _Kuja_ wanted to, even when he had only just met you! And you, my friend, are always in the mood for a good fuck."

"Lani!" Ruby exclaims, "This is _Kuja_ we're talkin' about – I barely know him and I can tell he's more classy than a _fuck_!"

"Exactly!" Amarant nods, pointing a finger at Ruby, "She's got the idea. You don't... you don't fuck people like Kuja. God, I sound like a _woman_. Get out of my room."

"What, so you can chew glass or make angry faces in the mirror and hope that you're not totally emasculated because you want to shag a girly guy?"

Lani loves pinning Amarant down like a bug collector would a butterfly.

"Woman, I am _this _close to-"

"To what, throwing a hissy fit?" Lani smiles coyly up at Amarant, batting her eyelids. "Now, then, why do you insist on being _unhappy_ for all eternity?"

"Is he always like this?" Ruby asks.

"Oh, you have no idea," Lani groans, laying on her back and tilting her head up to look at Ruby, "If it doesn't have booze or pretty girls – or boys apparently – he's goddamned miserable."

"You forgot fighting. I like to do that."

"Drinking, fighting, and rutting like an animal. God, you're such a man."

"It's a puzzle, then," Ruby starts thoughtfully. "If you like havin' sex so much, and I'm assumin' this, so tell me if I'm wrong... Why haven't you slept with Kuja?"

Lani looks at her friend in annoyance. "The woman has a point."

"Fucking women, all you _have_ are points. You don't have any of the meanings."

"Yeah, you have those. So, lets put the points and the meanings together and get _reasoning_, hm?" Lani gets to her feet and then looks at her friend, crossing her arms. "Okay. You have _ten_ seconds to tell me-"

"Ten seconds? Do you really think my problems are so simple?"

"Yes, now you have ten seconds to tell me the problem before I remove the cause of all your issues."

Amarant looks at her seriously for a few seconds.

"Five seconds, Ama'."

He mumbles something under his breath, looking out the window. Lani thinks she heard it, but that _can't_ be... "What was that?"

He mumbles it again, a little louder. Lani can hear Ruby make a noise.

"You _what_ now?"

"For god's sake woman!" Amarant exclaims, "I don't want to fucking _hurt_ him, you got it? Do I need to say it _louder_!"

"Is that it?" Lani yawns, rolling her eyes.

"Now," Ruby suddenly speaks up, "I can see where he'd get that one..."

"Have you fucked _everyone_ other than Kuja?" Lani asks, eyebrows raised.

"I haven't fucked anyone in three goddamned months so can we _please_ stop talking about it before I go _insane_!"

Lani stares at Amarant.

Ruby stares at Amarant.

Amarant would probably stare at himself too, if he was in view of the mirror.

"Why would you be worried about Kuja?" Lani asks, slowly.

"He isn't exactly as receptive as _you_ would be," Amarant snaps, feeling very hostile all of a sudden.

"Is that a snide remark about my sexual past?" Lani inquires, looking annoyed.

"Past, present, and _probably_ the future," Amarant expands upon the situation, "He's..." He tries to make the words form through hand movements, clenching his fists in attempt to explain. "He's a... very... very _small_ guy."

"So? Janelle was-"

Amarant blinks, and corrects, "Is."

"What?" Lani asks, frowning. He looks at her oddly, frowning.

"...Janelle _is_. Not _was_."

"...Oh..." The bounty huntress trails off, shaking her head, "Janelle's a small girl, and I sure as hell know you had no issue with her."

"Janelle is a _girl._ There tends to be..." He waves a hand, "There tends to be differences between guys and girls, you know."

"Yeah, I know," Lani looks at him in curiosity, "What I'm wondering is how _you_ know."

"I _have_ fucked a man before," Amarant rolls his eyes, "And it turned out badly. Which is why I don't want to try anything with Kuja. Does that _make sense_ to you, now, with your points and such? Or do I need to draw a diagram?"

"I wanna see the diagram!" Ruby exclaims.

"I think we get it," Lani cuts the other girl off, who pouts, "But you shouldn't worry about Kuja. You want to fuck the guy, do it. I'm seriously wondering if that's the_ only_ issue between you two."

"I wouldn't know. I know that's... probably one." Amarant shrugs, "I don't give a shit, he's having a fine time with that rag-doll."

"Yeah, they're probably at the warehouses by now-"

"..._What_?"

Lani winces, looking at Ruby, silently urging her to be cautious.

"Well... the after-parties when we're in Treno usually land in the warehouses, since liquor tends to flow freely, y'know?" She laughs, "It gets real loud and Blank always gets real drunk..."

Amarant stands, goes to the door, and opens it. "Out."

"What?" both girls ask, almost in unison.

"Get _out_. I have things I have to do."

Ruby frowns, and looks to Lani, who nods, and then leaves, standing in the hallway. Lani comes up to Amarant, and smirks.

"Don't be accepting, Ama'. Remember, the first rule we made – make no exceptions, take no prisoners. You've broken that rule and I've broken it too – let's not do that again, right?"

"If you're going to come with me, fine, but I don't need you to wax philosophical on me. Now get out, I need to change."

Lani leaves the room, and Amarant shuts the door. The bounty huntress smiles easily.

"...What's goin' on, darlin'? I'm confused."

"Oh, that old dragon decided his territory is too precious to him." She laughs, "I hope your acting friend knows how to fight someone like Amarant..."

Ruby looks worried for Blank, and Lani doesn't blame her.

* * *

Captain Jack Equals Love. 


	6. Hello Goodbye

A/N: Here's your treat – or your trick. You decide.

CANDY.

* * *

It is very, _very_ cold by the time night sets in, and yet he continues on. He feels only occasional bits of frost and simply shakes it off, focusing himself once again on his mission – altering it. He has altered his mission to fit the current situation. 

He doesn't know why his mind is racing with thoughts of revenge and death; he doesn't know why he sees red. All he knows is that he is following, tracking old footprints and old scents that will take him to the girl who stayed with him and offered him help.

He knows that the humans will waste too much time and the hope that she will still be alive will have disappeared. He knows that humans are easily swayed by lower instincts – not that he isn't – and he knows that the more time they waste on their own the less time they will spend searching for others.

He feels rage – rage that his master isn't dead. He feels as if his whole body is trembling, trying to contain thunder that will surely destroy his master – Kuja – who had told him he didn't want him and didn't want to be his master.

He hunts, tracks, and waits for the proper moment to let his thunder roll. If only in the name of vengeance for a stupid little girl who didn't know how to scream when she was in trouble.

* * *

Amarant realizes with trepidation that he is feeling nothing short of pure anger. It's been a very long time since he's ever felt something this strongly – especially over something as petty as a person. 

But then again, from the very first time he had learned of him, Kuja had never been a petty thing. He had been a vicious, useless killer – a broken doll – a stupid monkey – a _person_ – a ... he wants badly to call Kuja a lover, but Amarant Coral never has lovers. He has groupies, one-night-stands, steady fucks and Lani.

Lani, who he really should just get back together with. At least she didn't have issues with Amarant having issues. At least _she_ knew what she would be getting into.

Amarant growls lowly when he hears an impatient knock on the door. "Are you a fucking woman or something?" the bounty huntress on the other side calls, "What the hell are you doing in there?"

He stalks to the door and, with a firm twist, jerks it open. The two girls stare at him in mild awe.

"Wow," Ruby breathes, "And here I was, thinkin' your version of cleaning up was washing your face."

"People tend to think that," he drawls, leaning against the doorframe. "Now, then, am I dragging you two with me?"

"Oh, no, _we're_ dragging _you_," Lani grins, then shakes her head. "You never go the entire way."

"What the hell are you talking about? I spent ten minutes worming into these goddamned things," Amarant exclaims, obviously referring to the black pants Kuja gave him so long ago.

"Oh, for god's sake – here," she grumbles, reaching up and untying her hair, "I was _trying_ to go for a new look," she sighs, "But since I'm not the one who's actually _trying_ to impress someone-"

"I'm not trying to impress _anyone_!"

"Shut up," Lani rolls her eyes, moving behind the other, "Tilt your damned head back, you great big ass. There we go." She ties the black strip of cloth around his hair, tucking the knot beneath. "Well, at least we can see your _eyes_. I'm wondering if we should, though, since you look so angry."

"I am _not_ angry. I'm going, follow if you're going to." Amarant pushes past the two and heads downstairs.

The air is cold and he frowns, looking behind him – the two girls leave arm-in-arm and goddamn Lani better not be planning on seducing the actress – that would mean awkwardness, especially if he can't solve this issue with Blank.

His heart thumps a little bit faster and he growls, feeling hostile. The fucking actor better not...

"Be careful, Ama'," Lani calls from behind, Ruby giggling idiotically, "Don't want to seem _jealous_, do you?"

"Shut up, woman."

Honestly, what crazed god went and made men and women so different? Why couldn't they have made people less complicated and layered, and then why'd they have to create people like Amarant, who _aren't_ complicated and _don't_ know how to figure out those who are?

Why does he feel like a bug in the hand of one overly sadistic child?

Why is his heart thundering?

The cave is easy enough to find. They don't bother hiding themselves – they don't think anyone will find them or want to find them.

Or maybe they think that little, one-eyed hunter would come for his damsel in distress? For his princess?

He snarls and can see the light of a fire.

He hears a low groan of pain.

"I'm sorry," the girl's voice apologizes – he hides in the corner and watches the scene. The girl – something starting with a J – is sitting in the corner, looking at a man who looks incredibly irate, holding his head. "I didn't mean to scream so loud."

"For god's sake, it was a _spider_! This is a _cave_, it _echoes_."

"I wasn't thinking – it was a big spider!"

The man sighs and pokes the fire idly – he looks hardly older than she must be. "I'm supposed to be a kidnapper, not a _babysitter_."

"At least you aren't rude like that _other_ kidnapper."

"I'm not supposed to be _polite_, woman! We're holding you captive for that bounty hunter, remember?"

"Yes, I do." The girl shrugs, back to the wall, "Arok won't come alone, you know. And that's if he even comes at all."

"Of course he's going to come!" the man snaps.

"Why are you so sure? He just works with me. I'm surprised you didn't try to take Byrd, he would come for him..."

"So I've heard. Well, he's going to come for you – you're a pretty girl. That's how it works!"

"You know, you're a very idealist kidnapper," the girl says, blushing slightly, "But thank you for the compliment."

"What comp... I wasn't complimenting you!" He's blushing too – the Waltz feels a growl rising. That stupid _child_ – doesn't she realize the severity of her situation? Don't they realize where they _are_?

What is making his blood race?

The warehouse is loud with already drunken people getting even drunker. The air is thick with what smells like sage and other natural scents – "That better not be the incense from the play," Ruby growls – and the music is so much more different from the two girls that were last here. Instead of resembling Lindblum or Alexandrian music, the beat is steady and the percussion outweighs most of the other instruments. It sounds vaguely violent and the man "singing" is shouting slightly hidden innuendoes about loose women and sex. Some of the songs actually sound vaguely familiar, and he can feel the beat drumming in his veins.

"It's a lot _louder_ than the last time I was here," Lani grumbles, before smirking, "Ruby and I are going to go drink ourselves stupid, you go find your monkey boy."

Amarant doesn't listen to her, and shoves through the jumbled, slightly in-unison dancing of drunk, happy people. His blood races and he feels himself looking around for silver hair.

He finds them dancing near the wall, and stays a fair distance away, observing the severity of the situation. Blank has his arms on Kuja's hips and they're swaying rather frantically – in time to the music but still, it makes Amarant _angry_. They're laughing and Blank ducks his head in for a kiss – Kuja accepts and they stop in the middle of the _goddamned_ floor – no way in _hell_ –

He's behind Kuja in a moment and loops an arm around his waist, pulling him out of Blank's arms and into the middle of the room.

"What are you – _Amarant_?"

Kuja looks surprised, confused – angry. No, not angry...

"What are you _doing_?"

"Not drinking, that's for sure," Amarant grumbles, as the drums pound against his ears. "How's your date?"

"How was your _nap_?"

"Oh, claws," Amarant snorts, and even though he knows they're fighting, they're dancing at the same time – it's rough and not at all graceful like it was with the two girls singing.

"It's going _fine_ – it _was_ until you came in."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Was I interrupting something?" Amarant spins Kuja out at "one two three" and brings him back at "four five six."

"_Yes_," the Genome hisses.

"I have a question. It's been eating at me for the last few days."

"Well, spit it out, I want to get back to my _date_."

Amarant feels his hand clench on Kuja's hip and forces it to relax.

"Why are we fighting, exactly?" He dips the other, "I've got an idea but it's always been easier to hear it from someone else."

"So you realized we were _fighting_. Interesting, I thought you were too simple for that."

Amarant lets his hand clench again, doesn't loosen the grip when Kuja shoots it a glance, "Is that why? Am I too simple for you, monkey-boy?"

"You're more than simple, you're _complicated_," Kuja growls, "I can't tell where you're going, when you're going to get there, and if you're even going to get there in one _piece_! You don't talk, you respond; you don't _listen_, and, did I mention that you playing games with me doesn't exactly make me a happy person?"

"Games? I hardly play games," Amarant responds, seeing Blank shifting through the crowd and consequently moving them in the opposite direction. "And it should be obvious where I'm going – I'm going anywhere you are. That's how it's been working, and it _was_ working fine."

"Past tense," Kuja growls, and nails bite his skin, "Tell me, how much money does it take to get you to follow someone around for five months? I see how it could be convenient, losing your bounty by dying with me-"

"Are you saying I slept in the same bed as you and put up with your _insanity_ and your goddamned nightmares because of _money_ or _convenience_? Do you think I'm _that_ petty?"

"Well, considering I don't know anything about you, _yes_, it was a safe assumption. I don't know anything about you, and you're not willing to talk. Blank, on the other hand, has so far treated me with this... open demeanor that rather suits me better than your cold, silent one. And I can tell, just by looking at him, what he's thinking."

"So, what you're saying is that you like people who are _easy_, then? No hidden pasts or shady occupations?"

"I rather spend my time worrying about concealing my _own_ problems, rather than trying to figure out someone else's." Kuja finally sees Blank and pulls away, "So, yes, I like the easy people. I like knowing the motives. And, quite frankly, I think that is perfectly suited to me, wouldn't you?" The Genome's eyes flash, "After all, it wouldn't do for me to mistake your purpose, and end up trusting you too much, would it?"

"...Am I, uh, interrupting?" Blank asks, cautiously coming up to Kuja.

"_Yes_," Amarant snarls.

"_No_," Kuja responds, eyes narrowed, "No, I was just about to come find you. Do you want to go for a walk?"

"Uh, sure." Blank brightens when Kuja starts to pull him away, and Amarant feels something in his stomach twist. "I know this really nice place near the Inn..."

Amarant makes a move and suddenly a hand grabs his arm. He snarls, turning, and growls at Lani, who shakes her head in response. "Don't bother. I think you've..." She frowns, "I think you just lost."

* * *

He skulks in the shadows and hears footsteps approaching. He watches another man, with a chunk of his nose missing and face scarred, stalk past him and into the cave. 

"What the _hell_, you _idiot_! I told you not to _untie_ her!"

The younger of the two kidnappers shakes his head, "It's not like she's gonna run away, with her ankle twisted."

"It doesn't make any difference! I don't give a shit if her fucking back's broken, you don't _untie_ the hostage! Good goddamn, the boss had no idea what he was doing when he hired you!"

"Considering I could kill you where you stand," the boy growls, turning hostile, "In less than five seconds, I suggest you keep your mouth _shut_. She isn't going anywhere."

"Fuckin' kid," the older one growls, turning around and heading back out into the forest. The Waltz can smell blood in the air – he must act soon.

"Sorry about that," the boy mutters.

The girl giggles, "I thought kidnappers weren't supposed to be polite?"

"I'm not bein' polite!" he exclaims, "It's just a habit."

_Crack._

"Hey, did you hear that?"

"...Yes...?"

The boy stands, stretching, "I guess your knight in shining armor came. Sorry, but he'll probably get killed."

"Isn't there a way we could work this out without violence?" the girl asks, "I don't want people to get killed-"

_There it is,_ the Waltz thinks just as a scream pierces the air.

"Oh my god!" the older kidnapper shrieks, and then is silent. The smell of hot blood drifts through the air – his wings fan slightly.

"W-W-What is _that_!" the boy shouts, drawing back into the cave as the huge, woolly beast paces towards them. "Oh my _god_, is that-"

"The beast..." the girl murmurs, "He said there was a beast here..."

"You're in it's _den_," the Waltz finally snarls, stepping into the light. The boy draws his knife, and thunder rolls. "Don't bother, I'm not here for _you_." He looks to the girl, "I hate having meaning."

"I... I didn't..."

"You _did_!" Why does his head hurt? "You gave me meaning – you gave me something to _do_ – now I have to..."

The beast roars and snaps its jaws. He turns, and growls, "Now I have to complete my mission."

"I'm not..."

"What mission?" the boy asks, confused, "Are you one of the bounty hunter's friends!"

The Waltz looks at the boy. "I do not care about the girl." He looks at the beast, stares at it – he can see himself in the two huge, black eyes. "I only want this."

"Please don't!" the girl shouts.

His head hurts so much. The beast snarls and then leaps –

* * *

Amarant feels Lani's hands on his shoulders, but he isn't listening. She's saying things about next time, next time they'll be better, you win some you lose some, other fish in the goddamned sea... 

There might be plenty of fucking fish, but there's only a few goddamned cats that can catch them. Only a few and damn it, he didn't lose anything!

She pushes a mug of something bitter tasting into his hands and he downs it all easily – next time, next time it'll be better – and Ruby's watching them with eyes that look like a scorned lover's. There's always next time, Lani says, there's always next time.

Or, there's right now. He suddenly gets it. Ultimatum, bluff, last chance...

"Shut up," he rasps.

"...What...?"

He looks at Lani – Lani, who lived around him for two years before his entire race was practically destroyed; Lani, who helped him get settled in Treno and then helped him get out again; Lani, who tried to do a lot she just couldn't do.

"Shut up." He stands, pulls his hair loose and gives her the tie. "Damn it, Lani, there isn't a next time."

"What are you _talking_ about, are you going to become a fucking celibate now?"

"No," he draws, shaking his head, "I think, for once in this goddamned life, I actually get something." He smirks, "No time to be enigmatic on my part. That fucking cat wants me to be direct, so help me I'll give him fucking direct."

Ruby brightens a little, smile growing, "So you're gonna go give love and peace another chance?"

"There isn't going to be _any_ peace," he growls, grinning despite the tone, "_Relax_, Lani. For all that's good in the world, have another drink and chat up a pretty girl or boy or whatever you're feeling tonight. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

He passes through the crowd, listening to the hard beats and feeling his blood beating with it. The air outside is cold but he simply hums, and crosses his arms behind his head. The stars are bright and he feels...

_Well, what do you know,_ he snorts, _I feel nearly happy.

* * *

_

_Crack_. 

His head – he can't breathe – thunder rolls above and then dies in a spark. The beast screams at him and he feels teeth against his side – is that him screaming or is that her? Is he even here?

His back hits a tree, _crack_, and he feels something rushing from him, he feels so...

"G'ddamn, wh'd y' get us int', Janelle?"

"What the _hell_ is that thing?"

"G...g..."

Thunder and another snap of lightning, and he feels it trace along himself. The beast snarls and jumps away, turning to face newcomers – he hates them for stopping the fight.

"Go help him, I'll take care of _this_ thing!"

"Careful, Byrd, it c'n take yer head off!"

Screaming and then a heavy thud, and he can feel hands – "Get _off me!_"

"Wh..."

"Don't touch him!" the girl cries, "He's hurt! I think his back is broken!"

"Are you okay?"

"I'm _fine_, just help _him_!"

He feels hands and god help him, he feels people moving him. His back aches – _crack_ – and he snarls, "_Touch me and die!_"

The hands retreat. "Go 'n get m'sister, Byrd. She knows how t'heal."

"Right." Footsteps retreating, double time.

Soft limping, a sigh, and then, "Mr. Waltz, are you okay?"

He doesn't want to respond, he doesn't want to tell her – "...my head..."

"It's okay, we're getting a healer right now. She'll be here soon."

"Oye, did _y'_ kidnap Janelle?"

"I... I... Is he dead?"

He has to tell them... "...dead, in forest..."

He hears the girl shifting, "I think he means your friend," she says quietly to the boy who he can't see anymore.

"...I... This was his idea," the boy mutters, "I didn't..."

"I don't care!" the one-eyed hunter snaps, "'m gonna kill y' all th' same-"

"Don't! Arok, stop it!"

"Wh..."

"He didn't do anything – he was _nice_! Don't hurt him."

"Janelle, this isn't th' time f'y' t' get all sypath'tic! 'e was gonna kill y'!"

"What are you _talking_ about!" the kidnapper shouts, "I wasn't going to kill _anyone_! I just got hired because the guy who was organizing this whole plot against you was a total _idiot_!"

"Well, tha' id'ot's dead in th' forest 'cos o' y'! An' 'sides, th' letter said-"

"I didn't write the damned letter, _that_ guy did!"

"Stop it!" she shouts and the two go silent. "I don't _care_, Arok! He was nice to me. I'm not a child – I'm _older _than_ you_. I understand the seriousness of my situation, but I also understand that there are people _hurt_ here, more injured than your pride or whatever possessed you to come after me, and I would rather worry over them, than over whether or not I could have been killed."

"Wha're y' talkin' 'bout! _Pride_? I came after y' 'cos y'r my _friend_!"

His head hurts...

"I... Well, then, he's _my_ friend, so you better be civil to him!"

There's a shocked silence and his head suddenly doesn't hurt anymore. Neither does his side, but it feels cold... numb.

He can't breathe.

"When is Marie getting here?" the girl asks, "He doesn't look good – there's a lot of blood!"

"I dunno... Don't y' have s'mmin' t' help bandage him up?"

"I... I might have something... We used most of our bandages on her..."

"What 'appened t' her!"

"She twisted her ankle while walking back here! And then she burnt herself making food for us..."

"Y' made her _cook_!"

"I wanted to!"

"...I..." Silence. "...is it dead...?"

"The beast?" Her voice is soft and hoarse and doesn't sound right at all.

"...mm..."

"It's dead. Byrd killed it."

He can hear his heart beat. He didn't know he had one.

"...mm."

Something touches his forehead.

"Is she going to get here soon?"

"Dunno... it took us 'bout 'n hour t' get here first..."

"Just hold on, Mr. Waltz..."

He feels like there's something caught in his throat. A moment later and he realizes it's blood.

Something doesn't work.

Everything is dark; everything is night.

* * *

Happy Halloween. 


	7. To Sheila

**WARNING: THE FOLLOWING CHAPTER IS PRETTY RAUNCHY FOR ARTSY SLASH. BE AWARE.**

I'm so sorry I've taken so long – I've hit a snag. I have more to this, but I figured you'd all want INSTANT RESULTS LOL so I just decided to give you guys the best part of the chapter.

Nothing is deliberately said but only a moron wouldn't know what's going on (generally, of course). I'm not very good with lemons, so it's pretty vague... Promise I'll make up for it later with two other fics I'm writing at the moment. So, yeah, short chapter, but delicious. Read on, and be prepared for massive plot next chapter. Or maybe not-so-massive plot. Whatever.

* * *

Amarant reaches the inn in almost half the time it would normally take him. His head is clear, and he realizes he hasn't had a drink in almost a week – that'll change soon but that's okay. After tonight, he has a feeling he won't care if he never sees another ale again. They tend to have the opposite effect on him than on others – instead of opening up, he gets even more reclusive, and that's been the problem this whole damned time. 

The inn's lights are dimmed and the "closed" sign hangs over the door handle. He shakes his head – Lani doesn't seem to get that the inn can't just close any time she wants it to. Then again, the old man who owns the place tends to be withdrawn enough so that he probably wouldn't notice if the whole world disappeared.

The door is unlocked and he swings it open, rolling his eyes at the uncleared tables – Lani doesn't know what the hell she's doing.

He looks around, and frowns when he sees what he was actually expecting to see – Kuja, leaning over Blank and making a vaguely passionate plea with his mouth. His tail is, however, calmly waving, and Amarant knows _exactly_ what that means. He licks his lips and then stalks over to them.

The bounty hunter reaches and grabs Kuja's tail – softly, he doesn't want to _hurt_ him. The Genome gasps and pulls away from Blank, who's eyes widen briefly. The actor glances up and sees Amarant, suddenly flushing and looking rather scared. He must look pretty violent.

Once there's enough space, Amarant loops his arm around Kuja's waist and practically lifts him off the ground. "You want direct?" he asks Kuja, who looks at him, dazed. "You want straight forward, no double meaning? Fine." He glares at Blank, baring his teeth, "_Mine_."

"Ama-"

"Now, you can keep playing your little hard-to-get game, or you can let _me_ play my _own_ game." He smirks, and the monkey-tailed man blushes, "And I can promise you _my_ game will be a lot more _fun_."

Kuja's tail thrashes quite suddenly, and Blank notes the movement with a sort of resigned acceptance.

"You've been _wonderful_," Amarant drawls sarcastically, "But I think I'll take him from here."

The actor goes to the door, then frowns, looking back at them, raising an eyebrow. "You know, you're a lot like this one guy I knew," he says to Kuja, "I struck out with him, too."

He leaves and then they're alone downstairs.

"I didn't think you'd actually..."

"What?" Amarant asks, raising an eyebrow, "Did you think I wouldn't come?"

"I didn't think you'd get so _possessive_, so suddenly." Kuja blinks, and then his lips curve into one of the sexiest smirks Amarant has probably ever seen. "Now then..."

The Genome leans flush against the bounty hunter, and with all of the bluntness of a blow to the head, forces his lips against the other's.

Amarant grinds against the other and pushes him against the wall, hands on his shoulders. He feels Kuja's tail wind around his leg and arms wrap around his waist; the other is so small he has to lean over in order to kiss him. Not that he minds; not anymore. Kuja makes a noise and the bounty hunter reaches down, unwinding his tail from his leg. "Don't _bruise _me," he mutters into the other's mouth, and then tugs – softly, again, if he hurts the other...

Kuja cries out and pulls away from Amarant's mouth, gasping for air. The bigger man smirks, and runs his hand along the tail, which thrashes violently against him.

"A...ahn!"

Kuja gasps and his nails dig into Amarant's skin, leaving welts that will last a very long time. "Oh, oh..."

"Mmm," Amarant licks his lips, "There we go..." He leans in and licks the other's ear, earning another soft moan. "I wonder, just by touching your tail..." He tugs gently and caresses the tip, "How hard could I make you come?"

Kuja gives the bounty hunter a look that makes his blood burn, but says nothing. Instead, he reaches out and wraps his hands around one of Amarant's, looking at the stairs. The bounty hunter catches this and nods, smirking, pulling the other with him.

They ascend the stairs in half the normal time, nearly hitting the wrong door until they find Amarant's room – the bounty hunter pushes the Genome against the door, kissing him roughly and fumbling around for the key. Kuja presses back against him, and he slips the key into the lock – _click,_ twist, the door falls away and Amarant slips a hand against Kuja's back, drawing him against himself and backing into the room with him.

It's absolutely pitch black, but Amarant can see fine. He can tell by the sudden tightening of Kuja's grip that the Genome can't, and takes great pleasure in slowly leading pushing him backwards, until Kuja hits the bed and falls back on it.

Amarant puts a knee up on the bed, and leans down, pinning Kuja to the bed and staring for a while. It's always seemed strange to the bounty hunter that the Genome's skin could still glow, even in what seems like pitch black – but he doesn't pay it any attention now, not with silver hair fanning out behind him and pale blue eyes half-lidded; not with his face flushed like that.

"...A-Amarant?"

Good god, his voice shakes and Amarant licks his lips. "Hm."

"You're absolutely menacing."

"I know. Would you rather me not be?"

Kuja grins and laughs, "Would it matter?" But Amarant looks at him seriously.

"I wouldn't have asked if it didn't."

Kuja looks at him and then sighs, shaking his head. "You're really a piece of work." He reaches an arm out, and Amarant leans in, turning his head to kiss the palm of his hand.

"Is that good, or bad?"

The Genome sighs and pulls Amarant down for a kiss, and the bounty hunter accepts the move easily, pressing against Kuja and rocking with a calm, uncaring sense of need, deepening the kiss and sliding a hand along the other's side. Kuja's hands slide under his shirt and trace scars that he's memorized by now, dragging the shirt up in a agonizingly slow way.

They part long enough for the shirt, along with Kuja's, to be removed, and meet again. The movements between them are more urgent now – hands slide against hipbones and shoes are kicked off with the least amount of care they can afford to give anything. Amarant pushes against Kuja, shifting and allowing the other room to move. The Genome follows his thoughts and slides back so that he is entirely laying on the bed, pulling at Amarant's shoulders and drawing him in for a deep, lip-bruising kiss. The bounty hunter hooks his thumbs onto Kuja's pants – for once in his life, he wears pants, not a skirt, what are the odds? – and pulls; they slide off with only the minimum bit of resistance.

Kuja's tail slides against Amarant's back, fur warm and firm against the small of his back. Kuja groans and arches his hips; Amarant licks his lips and pulls away, fumbling with the damned pants that will take _forever_ to get off.

Kuja's smile is sultry and his eyes are dilated – Amarant gets the pants off in half the time they took to get on. Kuja wastes no time; he sits up and pushes Amarant to the side.

"_Now_ what?" the bounty hunter grumbles.

"You're _crazy_," the Genome responds, and gets up. Amarant smirks and admires Kuja's form – in the dark, no, _especially_ in the dark, the monkey-tailed man is... well...

"You're fucking _beautiful_," the redhead mumbles, feeling incredibly foolish. Kuja slinks into the bathroom, tossing a look over his shoulder that tells him the compliment is _highly_ appreciated. "Fuck, I'm not drunk enough for this..."

"Don't start that," the Genome rasps, fumbling through the cupboard. "You need to be drunk to want to sleep with me?"

"I didn't mean like... like that," he sighs, and sits up, refusing to look anywhere other than the bathroom doorway. "The lotions are behind the razor and soap," he adds.

Kuja makes an affirmative noise and comes back into view, walking forward like a goddamned dancer, one foot in front of the other, hips swinging, tail swinging. Amarant doesn't regret a damned thing he's about to do, and grins, reaching out a hand and pulling the other into his lap.

The Genome straddles him efficiently, and the tiny bit of space between them disappears. Kuja loops an arm around the other's neck and rocks his hips – Amarant growls deeply and tilts his head back as the other's hand slides between them, slick with lotion. "Fuck," he rasps.

Kuja smiles and tilts his hips forward. Something snaps Amarant out of his intoxicated state and he suddenly leans forward, hand on Kuja's hip. The Genome looks at him, frowning and looking a little annoyed.

"I don't..." Amarant frowns as well. He doesn't _care_ – Amarant Coral, goddamn it, doesn't give a shit if the fucking monkey in front of him hurts himself just because he's got a goddamned libido –

Who is he trying to kid?  
"I don't want to hurt you."

Kuja smiles, looking relieved. "Is that all you're worried about?" the other asks. He nods, and the Genome tilts in, kissing his neck. "Don't worry. Don't worry."

Amarant fucking Coral doesn't worry about goddamned bedmates.

He keeps trying to remind himself of the fact. Keeps reminding himself even when Kuja's lotioned hand takes his hand – even when he slides Amarant's hand along his hip, even when the other leans his hips forward and then back –

"_Fuck_," Amarant tries to get his breath back.

Kuja bites his lip and closes his eyes tightly, and Amarant wants to tell him he doesn't have to –

"_Fuck!_"

Kuja moans against Amarant's chest, rising up only to come back down slowly, fucking _agonizingly_ slowly and the bounty hunter makes a noise he swears isn't anything remotely high pitched.

"Are – you okay...?"

"Fine," Kuja gasps, "Fine, god, just, go, please _god _go..."

Amarant puts a hand in Kuja's hair and shifts; the other pants against his chest and moves with him. Amarant twists around so that Kuja is under him, and the bed groans beneath them; the Genome's legs wrap around his waist and he braces himself against the bed, hand grabbing the headboard.

He shifts and then pulls out, slowly, god, don't _hurt_ him, and then starts thrusting, slowly now...

"A-Ahn!"

Amarant shivers and leans his head down, thrusting against the other, faster now, god, "So, fuckin'..." He bites the other's shoulder and then licks the mark – Kuja mewls and one hand pushes against the headboard as well, the other carving perfect half circles into Amarant's back.

"_F-Fuck_!" Kuja cries, softly, he's always worried about _other people_ –

"Goddamn it," Amarant whispers, voice gone. He thrusts hard and whispers, "Come on, Kuja... Come on, stop being so _fucking_ quiet..." He licks the other's neck and then, "You're so pretty when you swear, come on..."

Kuja's covered in sweat and he kisses Amarant hard, panting and making noises into his mouth – not into the air. Amarant wants to hear the Genome.

He pulls back and looks down at the other, who's flushed and panting.

"W-Wh-... D-Don't..."

The bounty hunter licks his lips and pushes back, viciously, embedding himself as deeply as he can and drawing a hoarse, passionate scream from the Genome.

"Oh, there," Amarant whispers, "That's perfect."

Kuja cries out again as Amarant thrusts against him, and each sound makes Amarant's blood rush and brings him that much closer...

"C'mon," Amarant rasps against the other's neck, "God, fuck, _fuck_, I want them to _all_ hear you," and he does – he wants there to be no mistake in who Kuja picked. He wants everyone to know what _he _has, what _they_ don't –

Kuja screams his name and comes, falling against the bed and writhing against Amarant. The bounty hunter growls, low in his throat, when he comes, and slows his movements, pulling away from Kuja and looking down at him.

"God," he rasps, and leans down, kissing the Genome's neck, curling his arms under the other.

Kuja's eyes are closed and his face is flushed, and he smiles against the other's chest. "Mm..." His eyes crack open, just enough for blue to look up at Amarant, "You're an asshole."

"Hey," the bounty hunter mumbles, laying on his side and pulling Kuja against him, "What do you expect, roses?"

"And chocolate," the other replies, sounding tired, "Maybe something slinky, too."

"It'd never work," the redhead whispers into the other's ear, grinning and feeling... sated. "I don't look good in slinky outfits."

Kuja mumbles something against his chest and his tail winds around the other's arm. Amarant feels his muscles moving and goddamn, is he _smiling_? For real? Nothing to change it?

"You're a fucking piece of work," Amarant tells Kuja, who's too asleep to say otherwise.

* * *

He wakes up a good few minutes before he opens his eyes. He spends the time feeling sunlight on his face and arms around him in a bear hug that, a night ago, he thought he'd never be in again. 

Kuja opens his eyes slowly and looks at the window, which is propped open and letting warm light in. He sees the remains of a bit of galenas on the windowsill and rolls his eyes, smirking – of course Amarant would be the kind of person to smoke after sex.

He hears mumbling beside him, and rolls over, propping his head on his hand and looking down at Amarant. He's surprised at the sudden softness that the other's exuding; in the months they've traveled together – three, four, five? – the bounty hunter always had a sort of wall, or at least a few barricades, propped up between them. But now – he hopes that he isn't imagining it – the other seems content to sleep with his arms around the Genome; content to just be _around_. And, for once, he's slept in past sunrise, which is a miracle within itself.

Amarant groans and his eyes squeeze shut for a moment – _Oh, he's awake now. The sun must've gotten to him._

Brown eyes open and stare up at Kuja blankly for a moment, and then he sighs and closes them again. "What time is it?"

Kuja rolls his eyes, "How should _I_ know?"

"I don't know, you're a know-it-all. We should've been up by now."

"I don't think anyone's expecting us," the Genome drawls, smirking.

"I'm surprised you still have your _voice_," the other counters, earning a blush that he doesn't see. Kuja remembers, suddenly, just how vocal they _were_, and bites his lip. "Don't bother worrying," Amarant grumbles, arms loosening as he opens his eyes and sits up, "If you woke anyone, it's too late to take it back."

"How do you know I'm worried about _that_?" Kuja snaps, with no malice.

"You're pretty easy to read sometimes." He rubs his beard and stretches his arms.

"Really, now?" Kuja mimics him and then slides out of bed, tail curling around his waist. "God, I feel so _dirty_."

"That's a _good_ thing, so far as I'm concerned," Amarant chuckles, and reaches out, grabbing Kuja's arm. "Where are _you_ going?"

"I'm going to take a _shower_. I feel absolutely filthy." The bounty hunter gives him a look and the Genome rolls his eyes, sending a glance over his shoulder and padding over to the bathroom.

He hears the bed creak with Amarant's disappearing weight and smirks.

* * *

T-Minus Two. 


End file.
